Make Believe 4:Wife, Mother, Master, and Commander
by Rose Stetson
Summary: Sam's faced with the challenges of balancing her home life with her new responsibilities as commander of Stargate Command while Jack tries to adjust to retirement. Part 4 in the "Make Believe" series. Now...Complete.
1. Home

Sam unwrapped her scarf from around her neck as she walked into the Colorado Springs home that she shared with her husband, retired Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill, after the end of her shift as the SGC commander. The newly promoted Brigadier General felt tired and weary from all of the meetings and alien encounters she'd had to endure again. Two years as the commander of a ship and six months of leave had made the face-to-face contact with aliens and politicians, alike, somewhat unfamiliar to her again.

She sighed as she pulled her coat off and hung it on the coat rack, revealing her dress uniform. "Jack, I'm home."

"Long day?" Jack asked, walking into the living room.

She closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose, and nodded. "Yeah."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." She said with a sigh.

"Need a hug?"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about the events of the day. SG-16 had missed a scheduled check-in by several hours, and she'd sent another team to determine what had happened. The team had radioed back almost instantly to tell her that they'd found the bodies of the team strewn throughout the forest, eviscerated by a wild, alien beast. Three months into her time back at the SGC, and she'd lost an entire team. "That," she managed around the lump welling up in her throat. "Would be great..."

He walked over, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder as she cried softly.

"That bad, huh?"

She nodded slowly.

"You're doing a great job," he assured, holding her tightly. "You always do a great job."

It was several minutes before she finally let go, and it broke his heart to see the tears slipping down her cheeks. "We lost a team today," she whispered as she wiped away her tears with her fingers.

He nodded, soberly. "I assumed as much."

She bit her lip as she looked upward, grateful that he hadn't needed to ask if she was all right because he could read it in her face. "I...I wish I could tell you what happened," she sighed.

"I know." He said, sympathetically. "National Security and all that jazz..."

She nodded, pensively, before she inhaled deeply and exhaled. "How was your day?"

"Not too bad, actually." He admitted. "Grace had to be picked up from school. She had a little fever..."

"Is she okay?" Sam asked, worriedly.

"Fine. I gave her a children's Tylenol, and sent her to bed."

"I wish I'd been here," Sam sighed softly.

"I told her that you'd go in and give her a kiss when you came home," he said, leading her to their daughter's bedroom.

She smiled tiredly as she slipped inside for a moment. She walked to the six-year-old's bed and gently brushed the hair from her daughter's face. Just as she had expected, Grace's forehead was back to a normal temperature thanks to the Tylenol.

"Mommy?" The little girl murmured.

"It's me, sweetheart," Sam said, softly. "Go back to sleep."

"Hug?" She asked, her eyes still closed as she reached up with both hands.

Sam leaned down and hugged her adopted daughter with a small smile before she kissed her forehead gently. "Sweet dreams, Grace."

"Um-hm..." She murmured, snuggling into her covers as Sam stood and walked toward the door. She paused for a moment, blowing a kiss to the little angel who lay in the bed asleep. "Love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too, Mommy," Grace whispered, causing Sam to smile contentedly as she closed the door behind her.

"There's lasagna in the oven." Jack said from the kitchen. "And garlic bread too. Tried to keep it warm for you."

"You're the best husband I could ever ask for, you know that?" She asked as she leaned in to kiss him affectionately.

"Don't get to excited," he teased, trying to lighten the air a little. "It's frozen lasagna, and the garlic bread came from Wal-Mart."

She smiled appreciatively. "I think I'm gonna get out of these clothes before dinner."

"Want some help?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow in playful seduction.

She chuckled. "Maybe later. I'm a little tired right now..."

"Yes, ma'am." He winked.

She smiled softly before she turned to leave. She paused as she reached the archway between the kitchen and the living room that led to the hallway at the end of which was their master bedroom. She took a moment, just to watch her husband putter around the kitchen. They'd been married for a little more than two years, and in all that time, they'd probably only spent a few months truly together because of her tour on the "George Hammond".

"Jack?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Yes?" He asked, looking up from his sauce.

"It's nice to come home to you every night." She said with a tender smile.

"It's nice to have you home every night." He admitted, looking up at her affectionately.

"I love you."

He smiled as he blew a kiss to her. "Love you too."

-

The fire crackled faintly as Jack finished stoking it. He looked over at his wife who sat on the couch, dressed in form-fitting cotton pajamas, with a lap blanket settled over her legs. "Warmer?"

She smiled a rare relaxed smile as she looked over at him. "Yeah. And it'll be perfect if you come up here and join me."

He grinned as he quickly put the fireplace tools away, closed the grate, and slipped over to sit beside his wife as he wrapped his arm around her. She curled up next to him, resting her cheek on his shoulder as she drew from his strength.

"Feeling better?" He asked after a moment.

"Yeah." She said, nodding. "You do wonders for my state of being."

"Backatcha." He said, softly.

She stared into the flames with a small sigh.

"Something still on your mind?"

"I'm turning forty-three in a little over a month," she whispered.

"Yeah." He said, nodding. "And you just keep getting better with each passing year."

She turned a grateful smile to him, but he noticed the sadness in her eyes.

"Hey, you've never worried about your age before," he observed gently. "What's different this year?"

"It's silly." She said, shaking her head.

"Silly?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "There are a lot of words in the dictionary that describe you, but silly isn't one of them."

"I'm a Brigadier General, who has had an illustrious career in astrophysics and the Air Force," she began as if trying to convince herself that the troubles she faced were virtually nothing in comparison with her many blessings. "In almost fifteen years, I've done things that most people can't even imagine. I've stood on the frontiers of exploration, engineering, and scientific discovery."

"But..." He prompted gently, recognizing her rant for what it was.

Her lips parted as she inhaled deeply. "I want to try again to have a baby," she said with a single tear slipping down her cheek. "I think I'm ready...I mean, I love Grace, and if we didn't have any other children, I'd be happy, but..." She paused. "We never got to see her first steps. Never got to hear her first word..."

"Then, we'll have a baby." He said, gently caressing her cheek as he wiped her tear away.

She looked back at him with a sober smile, realizing how much it meant to her that he hadn't even hesitated – even with his dark past and the fear that had arisen when she'd miscarried nearly a year earlier. "If it's even possible..."

"Haven't you learned anything in the last fifteen years?" He asked, kissing her neck tenderly.

"A lot." She said with a faint smile.

"Yeah, but there's one lesson I'm talking about in particular."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He said, nodding. "Never say never, Carter."

She managed a small smile as she curled closer to him.

"Do you remember when we first met?"

"Could I ever forget how humiliating that first meeting was?" She asked with a smile and a blush.

He chuckled before he sobered. "I looked at you, and I thought that there wasn't a chance in hell that you would ever look my way. Especially with your military rank and our working relationship."

She looked up at him, listening carefully.

"And then...came the sweet, little tank top number."

She couldn't help but laugh at the memory of attacking him in a fit of primal need and desire.

"But by then, I knew how dedicated you were to your job."

She tensed, and he rubbed her arm in a comforting gesture.

"When we admitted our feelings in front of that za'tarc detector," he sighed. "I knew we were never going to be together."

She swallowed as she remembered each instance.

"And then, Jonah fell in love with Thera not two months later."

She swallowed. "And we left that behind too," she whispered.

"Pete was the final straw."

She bit her lip.

"And then, you came to me, asking what would have happened if things had been different for us..."

"And you said, "I wouldn't be here"." She quoted, softly.

"I never told you what I meant by that, did I?"

"You meant that you would have retired four years earlier rather than let me bury our feelings in a cement room with no hope of ever letting them out again," she whispered in perfect understanding.

"Yeah."

"I didn't piece that together until after my dad died," she said, softly. "Until I realized that our relationship had always been in my hands. Not because you weren't willing to take the first step, but because you respected my space, my dreams and my ambition."

"After all of my fears that we would never be together," he whispered, allowing his warm breath to tickle the flesh on her ear. "We're together."

"Yes, we're together," she said, nodding.

"And we may find ourselves with a little uphill battle when it comes to having kids, but Sam, it's not impossible. And even if we have doctors who tell us that we're past our prime, and that we can't have kids of our own, there are kids out there – in our world and in the worlds around us – who need parents. And I think we've proven in how much we love and care for Cassie and Grace, that we'll never have to worry about whether or not we can love them enough."

"That's true." She said, nodding seriously.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her jaw gently.

"I love you too," she whispered, turning around and kissing his lips softly.

"If you want to do this, we'll do this." He assured.

She managed a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"Hey, I'd give you the world if I could."

"I don't want it, Jack." She said, seriously. "But I do want you, and I want to be the center of your world."

"You've got me now," he whispered, nibbling at her lips. "And you've been the center of my world for more than a decade now."

"Yeah," she whispered as she felt her heart melt as he held her in his arms and kissed her with the fire of passion and tenderness of love.


	2. Relaxation

"Well, General, you're in perfect health." Dr. Lam announced as Sam finished dressing after her examination.

"And my chances of having a healthy baby?"

"Depends on a lot more than just your health." She said with an apologetic smile.

Sam sighed, knowingly.

"You're in a high-stress job, General. My advice? Take a few days off and take your husband on a little retreat." She said with a faint smile of encouragement. "Just relax."

"Easier said than done." Sam said with a wry chuckle. "Especially when you've got a brand-new command, and you're still trying to get caught up."

"You might try relaxing in general." Lam said, seriously. "Not only because you want to get pregnant, but also just for your health."

"So, what? Do yoga in the morning before I wake up?" She asked, sarcastically.

"Wouldn't hurt." Carolyn said, seriously.

"Maybe I'll ask Teal'c to teach me some of his Jaffa tai chi moves." She said, pensively.

"You've got the right idea now," the doctor smiled.

Sam managed a small smile as she inhaled. "I guess it's time to get back to work."

"Come see me if you have any other concerns."

Sam nodded slowly. "Sure."

Carolyn left the examination room, and Sam sighed. She had a feeling that they had a long road ahead of them.

* * *

Sam walked into her base quarters and reached for the telephone. She dialed a familiar number, and waited.

"O'Neill."

"Hi, Jack," she greeted, softly.

"Hey," he cried, warmly. "How's my gal?"

"Fine."

"You sound tired."

"I am."

"You coming home?"

"As much as I would love to? No." She sighed. "I have a meeting that I need to be here for. It's in the middle of the night to accommodate the schedules of the delegates who are coming, so I need to stay here."

"Rats."

"I'll probably be able to come home for lunch tomorrow, though. If you're free?"

"For you? Always."

"Hey, put Grace on the phone?"

"Sure."

She smiled softly as she listened to him call their daughter to the phone. "It's your mom," he said just loudly enough for her to hear him.

"Yay!" Grace said as Sam heard the phone pass from father to daughter. "Mommy?"

"Hi, angel." Sam said with a small smile. "How was school today?"

"Good. I got to color, and Daddy put my picture on the fridge."

"I can't wait to see it."

"Are you coming home?"

"Not tonight. I have to stay on the base," Sam explained somewhat sadly. "But you and I can have a girls' day out on Friday when I have the day off, okay?"

"Okay," she grinned.

"Love you, sweetheart. Go get ready for bed, and put Daddy back on the phone, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy. I love you too. Bye-bye."

A soft smile graced her features before she looked down at and fidgeted with the nondescript blanket. "Sam?" Jack asked a few moments later as he got back on the phone.

"I saw Dr. Lam today..." She began, softly.

"And?"

"I'm healthy..." She sighed softly. "But I need to relax."

"I've been saying that for years," he said, wryly.

"Yeah." She sighed softly as she played with the blankets on the bed in her quarters.

"You don't sound excited."

"I guess..." she began softly. "I just...I don't want to go back to that place where I was just after the miscarriage."

"You'll be fine." He said, softly. "And we'll survive like we always do. After all, some of the best gifts are the ones for which we have to wait the longest," he said, sagely.

No truer words had ever been spoken, she thought to herself. "Have I told you today how much I love you?" She asked after a moment.

"No, but I'm always happy to hear it."

She sobered as she thought about the depth of her feelings for the man on the phone with her. "You give me perspective when I have none."

"Yes, well..." He said, nonchalantly.

"How about I make it up to you when I get home tomorrow night after Grace goes to bed? Dinner, dancing, the whole nine yards..."

"I was going to suggest the same thing."

"Well, you know what they say about great minds," Sam smiled.

"Ack! Sam! Cliché!"

She chuckled appreciatively.

"You should get some rest. That meeting's going to come early, and when you come home, I intend to keep you up all night."

His voice sent shivers down her spine. "I'm counting on it."

"After all, you know what they say: If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try again." He said, reviving the phrase he'd said when they'd finally returned from P4X 639, having stopped the time-loop that had kept Jack and Teal'c reliving the same events from the same ten hours repeatedly.

"Nice call-back." She laughed. "And great idea."

"Hey," he said, more solemnly.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

The smile on her face grew more widely. "I love you too, Jack."

"Get some rest, okay?"

"I promise." She assured.

* * *

It was 10:30 the following evening before she finally dragged herself into the house. "Jack, I'm home," she called as she set down her briefcase. She sighed as she noticed the burned out candlesticks on the dining room table. Both plates were covered, and she looked over into the living room to find Jack lying asleep on the couch.

She sighed softly as she walked over to the couch. Sitting precariously on the edge of the couch beside him with one hand between her legs in nervousness, she ran her finger over his cheek somewhat apologetically. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Sam?" He murmured with his eyes still closed.

"Hi," she greeted softly as she studied his face, affectionately.

"Something happen at work?" He asked, waking.

"Yeah." She said, nodding. "Sorry."

"S'okay." He said, sitting up. "Did you already eat?"

"Yeah." She said, apologetically. "But it couldn't have been half as good as what you had planned."

He shrugged. "You're busy, it's okay."

She inhaled sharply. "You shouldn't have to suffer because I was late. Did you eat?"

"I ate a sandwich with Grace around six." He shrugged. "I'm fine."

"I'm sorry I missed it."

"You didn't miss it," he assured. "I can't have a romantic dinner without you."

"Come on, General," she said, helping him up. "Let's get you to bed."

"Not until you dance with me," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her.

"There's no music," she chuckled as she danced with him, following his lead as she had for so many years beforehand.

"That's what you think." He said, reaching into his pocket for a remote. Almost instantly, she heard the soft, jazzy sounds of their wedding song came through the sound system.

_Love me tender,  
Love me sweet,  
Never let me go.  
You have made my life complete,  
And I love you so.  
_

Sam rested her cheek against his chest as they danced, feeling safe in the arms of her husband.

_Love me tender,  
Love me true,  
All my dreams fulfilled.  
For my darlin', I love you,  
And I always will._

_Love me tender,  
Love me long,  
Take me to your heart.  
For it's there that I belong,  
And well never part._

_Love me tender,  
Love me dear,  
Tell me you are mine.  
Ill be yours through all the years,  
Till the end of time._

She smiled softly as they continued to sway together in the darkness. "I never thought we were going to have this together," she whispered in the silence.

"Never say never, Samantha." He whispered as he stopped and gently bent his head so that his lips could brush hers tenderly.

With gentle fingertips, she touched his face as she returned the kiss, allowing the stress of the day to melt away.


	3. Tired

_"He's beautiful, Sam, really beautiful," her husband said, looking from the bundle he held in his arms to where she lay in a hospital bed._

_"Yeah..." She murmured softly. "Looks like his daddy."_

_Jack grinned. "Good thing too."_

_"Why? Don't you think I'm pretty?" She asked with a wry grin. She didn't feel too pretty after everything she'd just gone through._

_"Of course I do. But you can always tell if a kid gets his looks from his dad..."_

_"Oh?"_

_"Yeah. You can tell because their moms still have theirs." He said with a teasing chuckle._

_She laughed softly. "I love you," she whispered._

_"I love you too."  
_

She sighed contentedly in her sleep as her work cell rang loudly. She groaned as she woke herself.

"Work?" Jack murmured as he tightened his grip on her torso.

"Yep." She said, reaching for the cell as she turned on a light.

"Ack! Carter!" He cried, reacting sharply to the light that attacked his eyes.

"Sorry, Jack." She said before she opened the phone. "Carter," she greeted.

"Ma'am, we have a situation with SG-4." One of the technicians said, urgently. "They say it's urgent that they debrief immediately."

"I'll be there in ten." She sighed as she woke herself more fully. She hung up the phone before looking over at her husband. She kissed the top of his gray-haired head, affectionately. "Gotta go," she murmured in his ear.

His response was muffled by the pillow he'd thrust his face into as she turned on the table lamp.

"What?" She asked, running her finger across his bare shoulders.

He lifted his head, obviously against his better judgment. "Okay. I'll see you later. Love you." He shot out before he let his head hit the pillow again.

She smiled affectionately as she gently kissed his shoulder. "I love you too, you crazy, crazy man."

* * *

"Mr. President, I assure you that we have taken the necessary precautions," she said, sitting in her desk chair in her dress blues, as she held the red receiver in hand.

"General Carter," he continued. "I don't know if you understand the gravity of the situation. If this infection breeches containment, it could be like small pox all over again."

"Mr. President, with all due respect," she interrupted. "I understand the gravity of the situation perfectly. The alien contagion that SG-4 brought back has been handled to the IOA's specifications. The team radioed ahead to inform us of their infection, and they have been isolated accordingly. As we speak, however, as a secondary precaution, I have Dr. Lam checking all SGC personnel for evidence of the infection. If any additional evidence is found, then I will be sure to initiate the appropriate level of containment, and I will inform both your office and the IOA."

"General, it was quite a fight to get you in charge of the SGC after what happened in Atlantis," the President said, seriously.

"And what did happen in Atlantis?" She demanded, getting somewhat angry at the second reference to the IOA's dislike of her command style in the last half-hour. "What happened was that Dr. Woolsey was appraising my work only to discover that some of the procedures which are usually perfectly well-intentioned, and even carefully planned out, are not always appropriate to the situation. I am glad to abide by their regulations as long as it is understood that I need some flexibility to ensure the survival of my staff. Those are the very qualifications which the Air Force has praised me so highly for in the past."

"Look, General," the President said with a more soothing tone. "The point is that we can't afford to lose another commander of that base. To retirement or the IOA's extraction."

She bit back several choice comments and words. "Yes, sir."

"Now, I have to get to another meeting. Let me know the next time you'll be in DC, and bring your husband to dinner, okay?"

"All right." She said, swallowing as she hung up the phone. She leaned back in the chair with her eyes closed for a moment as she tried to regain her composure from the maddening conversation with the President.

A knock on the door forced her to open her eyes and looked up at it. An instant smile lit up her face. "Daniel."

"Hard day?"

"You have no idea." She sighed. "But that's behind us. How are you?"

"Considerably better than you," he chuckled. "I don't have to play the same politics."

"Too true." She said, shaking her head.

"What is it this time?"

"The President's getting worried about the infection that SG-4 brought back through the Gate. Says the IOA's watching me closely."

"Because they think you screwed up in Atlantis?"

"Oh yeah," she said, shaking her head.

"Sorry to hear it," he said, seriously. "If it makes a difference, I think you're one of the best commanders we've had at this base."

"Thank you, Daniel." She said with a small smile. She inhaled. "Okay, what did you need?"

"Actually, a consultation."

"For what?" She asked, confused.

"A device that you studied at length."

"Ah. I think I can squeeze that into my schedule." She said, standing. "Walter?"

"Yes, ma'am?" The Chief Master Sergeant asked, poking his head around the corner. "If you need me I'll be with Daniel in his lab, looking at a device he needs my help with."

"What about your meeting at 1400 hours?"

She looked at her watch. 1310. "I'll be back." She assured. "Call me if I'm not back by 1350."

"Yes, ma'am."

Sam studied the cylindrical device with a critical gaze as Daniel looked over at her. "So, you're, uh, trying to get pregnant again, huh?"

She hesitated her work, somewhat surprised at the directness of his statement. "Who told you that?"

"Jack. He wanted me to keep an eye on you."

"Oh." She said, nodding slowly.

"You wanna talk about it?'

She sighed. "Not really. I have a lot of work to do, and I can't really have that at the forefront of my mind while I do it."

Daniel nodded, slowly. "Right."

She returned to her work for a moment before she looked back at him. "Daniel, do you ever wonder if the sacrifices we made weren't...too high a cost for our work?"

"Everyday." He admitted, slowly.

For the first time in a long time, Sam remembered Daniel's sacrifice. The first of many sacrifices offered by the SG-1 team in the exploration of the galaxy.

"I'm sorry. That was a...senseless...question to ask you of all people," she whispered, somewhat shamed.

"It's okay, Sam, it's been almost fifteen years since Sha're was taken by the goa'uld in the first place." He said, softly. "It's okay to talk about her."

She managed a grateful smile.

"Can I tell you something?" Daniel asked, looking over at her.

"Always, Daniel." She said, seriously. "I may not want to hear it, but you wouldn't say anything you didn't think needed to be said..."

"Try to tell that to Jack." Daniel muttered.

Sam chuckled. "He's a "get to the point" kind of guy."

He nodded, appreciatively, before he looked over at Sam. "You and Jack are the kind of couple that I would have killed to meet when I was in foster care. A couple that likes kids, and is as open to love them as you both are. I mean, you've both been there for Cassie since she got here fifteen years ago. Even when Janet was still alive."

Sam smiled softly at the thought of her surrogate daughter. "She's getting married, you know?"

"Cassie?" He said, surprised. "I hadn't heard that."

She nodded.

"That's great." He said, happily.

"It's that guy she's been dating back in Baltimore. Cameron Livingston. He's just finishing up law school."

"He's a great guy." Daniel said, nodding quietly.

Sam could see on his face that he remembered all too well the circumstances under which he'd met the young man. One of the weekends after the miscarriage where Daniel was still staying with the O'Neills and Cassie came down to try and cheer her up.

"Jack and I approve as well." Sam said with a small nod as she returned to her work, hoping that Daniel's awkward conversation was finished.

"I guess all that I'm saying," he began after a brief pause. "Is that you and Jack would make great parents, and Grace...and whatever other children you get through adoption or conception...well, they're lucky."

"Thank you." She said with an uncomfortable smile as she looked at her watch. 1345. "You know, Daniel...I have a meeting."

"Right. Who's it with?"

"IOA." She sighed as she left. "I just hope they don't decide to fire me again."

* * *

The meeting was long and boring. As she'd expected. But now it was over, and she was getting ready to go home.

"Samantha!" Vala cried as she walked into Sam's office.

Sam turned with a small smile. "Vala!"

"How are you?"

"More than ready to go home..." Sam admitted. "How about you?"

"I'm all right." She said with a secretive smile.

"What is it?" Sam asked, noticing the sparkle in Vala's eyes.

"Daniel and I are going on a date!"

Sam's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"His friend is getting married, and he asked me to accompany him."

Sam looked over at her, uncomfortably. "He might be asking..."

"He said that it was a date," Vala said, seriously. "In those words."

Sam smiled softly. "Well...that's good."

"But...that leaves me with a problem."

"You need to go shopping for a new outfit," Sam chuckled softly.

"Yes, and you must come with me!" Vala begged.

"When?"

"Anytime before Saturday."

"I'll see if I can get away," Sam promised. "But we might have to bring Grace along."

"Of course! I love little Gracie."

Sam cringed inwardly at her friend's attempt to be cute, but if anyone knew Grace well, they'd know she was far from a "little Gracie" and more like a Grace Kelly in the making. "Look, why don't I check my schedule, talk to Jack and get back to you, okay?"

"All right."

Sam pulled her coat over her blues as Reynolds entered her office. "Well...I'm officially off-duty. Keep 'em safe, Reynolds."

"Yes, ma'am." He said, soberly.

* * *

She walked into her home twenty minutes later. It had taken her too long to get away from the Mountain with questions and "good nights" from half the base. Still, it had made her heart a little lighter to have the reminder of such happy faces instead of the memory of her meeting with the IOA.

"Hey!" Jack said, surprised. "You're home in time for dinner!"

"I know...probably not going to happen for another millennium," she sighed.

"Bad day at work?"

"Average day at work," she shrugged before kissing his lips. "Where's Grace?"

"Reading. She wants to get the most reading points in her class..."

"Reading points?"

"Yeah, it's a friendly competition, and she has it in her mind that she's going to win."

Sam chuckled softly. "At the rate she goes through books, she probably will."

He smiled. "It's nice to be awake when you get home."

"It's nice to see you awake," she said, managing a small smile as she looked over at him.

"You look tired."

"I'm always tired." She shrugged.

"Anything wrong?"

"Besides the fact that I have the world on my shoulders everyday?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "No."

"You can do this, Sam."

"I know." She sighed softly. "But it's so much easier not to have to deal with the IOA or the politics of the program, and just shoot the bad guys."

He laughed softly. "Who said you can't shoot them?"

"The IOA or the bad guys?" She asked, confused.

"Either. Both. Whomever you feel like at the time."

She giggled, releasing some of her tension.

"There you go. Now, go put your feet up and watch some television. I'll bring dinner to you, okay?"

"You don't have to do that, Jack..."

"I want to." He said, seriously.

He turned back to his task before Sam leaned against the doorway. "Jack?"

"Hm?"

"Why'd you tell Daniel we were trying to have another baby?" She asked, softly.

He looked over as he inhaled softly. "Uh...thought it might be nice for him to keep an eye on you. Like I would have..."

"Jack..."

"Look, Sam, if you did get pregnant, and something happened, I know you'd hate yourself."

She swallowed, not wanting to admit it.

"I just thought...if there's anyway to protect you from that hurt again...I'd do what I could."

She managed a grateful smile. "Well...despite the awkward conversation...thank you."

"Awkward conversation?"

She managed an uncomfortable smile. "Uh...Daniel just...doesn't have much tact when it comes to...babies..."

"Ah." He said, nodding. "Who knew?"

She smiled softly before she moved to walk into the living room.

"Hey, Sam?"

She turned, too tired to verbally respond.

"I love you. And if you want, I'll keep quiet about the trying..."

Tears moistened her eyes as she looked back at him. "Thanks."

He nodded, soberly.

"I love you too, Jack." She murmured before turning back to go into the living room.


	4. Cadet

"Ma'am, I have General Landry from the Pentagon on line 1," Walter announced as he knocked on her open office door.

"Thank you, Walter." She said as she picked up the phone and picked up the line. "Carter."

"Sam!" Landry greeted, boisterously. "How are things under Cheyenne Mountain?"

"They're good, sir." She grinned.

"Not too good, I hope."

"Sir?" She asked, perplexed.

"Sam, your scientific contributions to the Program alone makes your predecessors look incompetent. If everything is rosy down there, they may never let us hear the end of it."

"Yes, sir," she smiled. "But it's thanks to General Hammond's command that we overthrew the Goa'uld. And General O'Neill was in command when we destroyed the Replicators..."

"How is Jack?"

Sam grinned as she played with the wedding ring on her left ring finger. "He's fine. I'll tell him that you said hello."

"Please do."

"As I was saying," she continued. "You were in command when we defeated the Ori."

"Yes, but you were influential in all three cases, Sam."

"I'm just keeping the peace," she said with an amused chuckle.

"And you're a better diplomat than half of us too." Landry laughed loudly. "You've got to yell and scream once in a while."

"Yes, sir." She said, playing around with his game. "I'll keep that under advisement."

"You do that." He said, warmly.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"There's still no actual military commander for SG-1, is there?"

She inhaled. "No, sir...there isn't. But not for lack of trying. I've tried to convince a half-dozen officers to take the post, but they don't want to leave their teams...and I don't blame them. So, for now, we still just have Teal'c, Vala, and Daniel. I've given command decisions to Teal'c given his particular experience, but..."

"We need an officer at the front of the team."

"Exactly."

"Sam, I have a candidate to join SG-1." He finally admitted.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh?"

"Yes. A cadet from the Academy. He's shown a great deal of promise, and I think he would complement the team quite well."

She coughed. "A cadet?"

"Not just any cadet. He's actually got a bit of experience. I think you'll understand why I think he should be at least a part of the team once you meet him."

She sighed softly. "Okay...what's his name?" Sam asked, reaching for a pen and one of the sticky notes on her desk.

"John Neill."

"John Neill..." She mused for a moment. Other than her husband's legal name of Jonathan O'Neill, was there a reason that names should sound so familiar?

"Yes. He has distinguished himself pretty spectacularly. He's on track for a distinguished career."

"All right, I'll speak to him."

"Wonderful." Landry exclaimed. "Let me know how it turns out."

She sighed softly. "Yes, sir."

"Well, I have a meeting in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks for the call, sir."

"Not a problem, Sam. I'll hear from you soon, then."

"Of course."

"Goodbye, Sam. Take care of yourself. And that husband and daughter of yours."

"Will do, sir." She said before she hung up the phone.

"Walter?" She called as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Yes, ma'am?" He asked, poking his head in.

"Get me a car. I'm apparently going to the Academy."

"Yes, ma'am."

She looked at her watch. She was going to be late to pick Grace up from school. "Walter?" She called again.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Call Colonel Reynolds, please? After my meeting at the Academy, I have to go home. I'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Yes, ma'am."

She reached for her phone and dialed her husband's cell number.

"O'Neill."

"Hi, Jack."

"Well, if it isn't my blue-eyed General," he teased. "How are you?"

"A little tired, but fine." She admitted.

"Good. What's up?"

"I have an unexpected meeting I have to go to. Can you pick Grace up? I'll get pizza on the way home. I've already got a call into Reynolds to see if he can babysit the base while I'm at home."

"Sure. What's the meeting?"

"Some recent cadet at the Academy has impressed Landry enough to think he's good enough for SG-1."

"A cadet?" He asked, skeptically.

"He says I'll understand why he suggested him, but I'm a little skeptical," she admitted.

"Hm. Kid must be good."

"That's what I'm thinking. Anyway, I have to go meet him and make my own decision."

"Ah. Well, if it's anything like how you felt about Hailey, then it shouldn't take long. Then, you can come home."

"Sounds heavenly," she admitted. "I should be home by four this evening. If all goes well."

"It will. You're good at what you do."

"Thanks, Jack."

"Hey, gotta make sure you keep me around for something," he teased.

She laughed. "You have your uses."

"A washed-up, cranky retired General like me?" He asked, skeptically.

"Even a washed-up, cranky, retired General like you." She smiled. "See you at home."

"See ya, Sam."

"Love you."

"Love you more."

"I don't think so."

"Off to your meeting, now." Jack ordered, playfully. "The sooner you leave, the sooner you're home with me."

"Yes, sir." She teased. "Love you."

"Love you too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

She hung up the phone and stood to put on the jacket of her blues as Walter returned. "I have a driver for you, and Colonel Reynolds is headed down from his office as we speak."

"Thank you, Walter." She said with a grateful smile as she buttoned the jacket. "One more favor: get me everything we have on John Neill."

* * *

"General Carter," the Air Force Academy commander greeted warmly.

"General Peterson," Sam smiled as she shook the offered hand. "I hear you have an exceptional candidate for Deep Space Reconnaissance."

"I do, indeed." The General said, pressing the intercom button on his desk. "Lieutenant, please send Cadet John Neill to my office ASAP."

"Yes, sir."

"I must admit I didn't have much of a chance to look at his file. My husband called me with a minor emergency."

"Is everything all right?"

She nodded. "He claimed it was an emergency. Which meant it was only a minor inconvenience."

Peterson laughed. "That's Jack for you."

She shrugged, good-naturedly. "He needs me," she grinned. "Especially when he's in the carpool lane at the elementary school, and has to wait forever before he finally gets to pick our daughter up."

The other General chuckled as they both heard footsteps. Peterson looked at the door, causing Sam to turn.

The cadet hesitated for a moment as he studied her.

"Cadet Neill?" Peterson prodded as Sam studied the cadet. He looked familiar.

"Yes, sir?" Neill asked, looking back at the Major General.

"I would like to introduce to you Brigadier General Samantha..."

"Carter." Neill finished. "With all due respect, sir, we've already met."

"Then, I do know you," Sam said, looking at the young man. She still couldn't place him.

"You look good, Carter."

"That's 'ma'am' or 'General' to you, Cadet." Peterson reprimanded.

Sam's lips parted in surprise. "Jack?"

"The not-so-only."

She tensed as she looked back at Peterson. "Why didn't you tell me..."

"Tell you what?"

"He doesn't know...ma'am."

Sam looked back at "John". "You went Air Force? Again?"

"Yes, but this time I picked up another degree!" He said with sardonic excitement.

"Engineering, I heard."

"Yep." He studied her, his eyes lingering for a moment at her wedding ring. "So...how are you?"

She inhaled, slowly. "Fine."

"I hate to interrupt," Peterson interjected. "May I ask how you know one another?"

Sam turned to the General. "There's a reason that he's an exceptional cadet, sir."

"Oh?"

"He's already been through the Academy."

The General's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"In fact, he knows about the first six or so years of the Program." She continued.

"How is that possible?"

"This is General O'Neill's clone."

Peterson's jaw dropped.

"Speaking of "the General"..." Neill asked, looking over at Sam.

"He's retired. And good."

"Of course he is." He murmured somewhat bitterly.

Sam swallowed, somewhat uncomfortably.

"So, you still go by Carter..."

"It was either that or..." She began before she stopped. "Well...after twenty years in the Air Force with Carter, I didn't want to part with it."

"Marriage, huh?"

"Yep."

"Brigadier, too."

She nodded.

"It was on my list..."

"I know. And the 'other' you made Brigadier just a few months after you were sent back to high school."

"Of course he did."

"Ja...John..."

"Yes?" He won a look from Peterson. "Ma'am?"

"How would you feel about rejoining the Program?"

"You're kidding, right?" He asked, with a sarcastic laugh.

Sam's soberness told him that she wasn't kidding, and he sobered. "How would..."he"...feel about it?"

"I told you. He's retired. He wouldn't have to know."

"Oh, he'd know. Someone would blab. Probably Daniel."

Sam managed an uncomfortable smile of amusement. "I think I could convince him to be okay with it."

"You?"

She nodded slowly. "He and I...when we transferred..."

"Right." He said, nodding. "Let me guess...Vegas?"

"Cabin." She corrected.

"Classy."

"It's up to you." Sam said, finally. "You can go back to the team with my blessing or you can go to another."

"So, I have to go to the Program..."

She shook her head. "I'll help you go anywhere else you want to go."

He shrugged. "Only ever liked the Program if I'm honest with myself."

She retrieved one of her business cards. "Let me know your decision."

He sighed as he looked at the card. "Yes, ma'am."

"General, I should get going," she said, looking back at Peterson, who nodded wordlessly. Sam turned back to John Neill, and inhaled. "Believe it or not, it really is good to know you're all right."

He sighed. "Backatcha."

She managed a small half-smile before she left the room.

* * *

She walked in the front door with a pizza box in one hand as she set her keys on the table in the entryway. "I'm home!" She called.

"We're downstairs!" Jack returned.

She inhaled for a moment. Jack wouldn't be happy to hear about her meeting. Or about what she'd offered his clone.

She brought the pizza down the stairs to find Jack playing on his gameboy and Grace watching a movie. "I brought pizza." She said from where she stood on the landing.

"Mommy!" Grace cried, flying over to her mother. She hugged Sam's legs tightly, and Sam managed to pat her back with one hand.

"Okay, angel, I have to put the pizza down, and then I can give you a big hug."

Grace pulled away with a smile as Sam set the box down on the coffee table in front of her husband before she leaned down and kissed his lips gently. "Hey."

"Hi."

She bit her lip as she pulled away, and sat down beside him.

"Something wrong?"

She hugged her daughter who had flung her arms around her neck tightly. "I'll tell you later," she choked out before she put her hands on Grace's arms. "Grace...honey..."

Grace released her grip on her mother before sitting beside her. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Sam said, sitting back against the couch cushions, happy to be relaxing with her family.

"Grace, you want some juice with your pizza?" Jack asked, recognizing the troubled look on his wife's face, despite her momentary respite.

"Yes, please."

"Sam, you wanna come with me to get it?" He asked, tugging on her hand.

She sighed as she stood. "Sure..."

They got up to the kitchen, and he pulled her over to face him. "What's going on? Is it the meeting that you had? Did that go poorly?"

She swallowed. "No. It was...fine..."

"Just "fine"?" He asked, skeptically.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she studied him for a moment. "I met a cadet...his name was...John Neill..."

"Okay..."

"Turns out I'd met him before. About, uh, eight years ago."

"Eight years ago?" He asked, surprised. "The kid couldn't have been more than fifteen years old!"

"Exactly." She said, swallowing. "And he'd gained access to a top-secret facility by unexplained means until..."

"You thought he was me." He said as understanding dawned.

She swallowed. "I didn't know it was him until he called me Carter..."

He nodded slowly.

She inhaled slowly. "I gave him my card...told him to call if he was interested in joining the program."

"I see."

"Jack, losing you to retirement..."

"I know." He interrupted.

She studied him closely. "I know what this must seem like to you...how it must make you feel..."

"I'm fine, Carter." He snapped.

She tensed. He'd been doing that a lot lately. Calling her "Carter" like he had when he'd tried to shut himself off from his feelings for her.

She felt tears moisten her eyes. "We need him, Jack." She managed around the lump in her throat. "And I think he should get a chance to decide where his life goes from now on. You're not the same person anymore..."

He was silent, just staring out the window with a stony expression on his face.

"Jack, please...talk to me..." She pleaded softly.

"You're a Brigadier General," he said, looking over at her after a moment. "You don't need me to approve your decisions."

"That's not what I'm asking for, and you know it!" She protested as silent tears slipped down her cheeks.

"I promised Grace some juice." He said, reaching into the fridge. "She's waiting."

She wiped at her cheeks. "I can't do this anymore," she whispered under her breath as she headed toward the bedroom.

He sighed as he watched her go. He'd look in on her when he'd calmed down. When they could have a rational discussion again.


	5. Silence

"I'd take another chance, take a fall, take a shot for you," the radio alarm blared. "And I need you like a heart needs a bea-"

Sam slapped at the offending snooze button as she groaned. The last thing she wanted to hear after her long and tense night at home the night before was "Apologize" by Timbaland and One Republic.

She rolled over only to face the icy reminder that Jack had not come to bed last night. He'd stayed in the basement and undoubtedly slept on the fold-out couch.

It was hard to know anymore whether he was giving her space or avoiding a confrontation. She stood and reached for her terrycloth robe, hoping that it would take away some of the chill she felt lingering in the air. She was always cold when she slept without Jack's strong arms around her, wordlessly reminding her of the strength of his love for her.

She walked into the kitchen to find a freshly pot of coffee that was only half full. Jack was awake.

She heard the shower start in the basement, and she sighed. He wasn't even willing to shower in their master bathroom.

She filled a cup with coffee as she heard her cell phone begin playing "Wild Blue voice begain the bedroom. She closed her eyes for a moment before she hurried back into the room and picked up the offending device. "Carter," she greeted almost in a sigh.

"General," Walter's voice began urgently.

"Yes, Chief?"

"The SFs detained a young man attempting to enter the base. He claims he had an appointment to meet with you, ma'am."

Sam pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to ward off the migraine which was quickly returning from the night before. "Let me guess..." she began with a silent groan. "He says that he's a cadet from the Academy, John Neill."

There was silence on the other end of the phone conversation for a moment. "Yes, ma'am. That's exactly right."

"He has an open invitation to my office," Sam murmured. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Yes, ma'am." He said as he hung up the phone.

Sam quickly showered and dressed. She walked out into the kitchen, pausing only for a moment as she saw her husband. She swallowed as the memory of their disagreement flooded over her again. "I'm...going to the Mountain. I'll be back tonight. Don't wait up if I'm late."

"Wasn't planning on it." He murmured as he sipped a cup of coffee.

She sighed as she closed the door behind her. Too upset to recognize her own strength, she winced as it slammed rather than gently closing.

She bit her lip. She had work to do. She'd fix this with Jack later.

* * *

"Cadet Neill," Sam greeted professionally as she walked into the briefing room upon arriving at the Mountain.

He turned and offered a snappy salute. "General, ma'am."

"At ease, Cadet." She said, dismissively.

He nodded as he relaxed slightly.

"So, have you made your decision?"

He swallowed. "I thought I might come and find out how, uh, "he" reacted when you told him."

"What makes you think I did?"

The cadet looked down at her, steadily. "You didn't tell him?"

She sighed as she motioned for him to join her in her office. They entered the small room just off the side of the briefing room, and she waved for him to sit down across from her. "I did tell him," she admitted less formally.

"And?"

She grimaced. "It wasn't pretty."

"I see."

"But I think it has more to do with the crazy hours I work here and how everything gets shifted back to him at home than your whole thing..."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Neill said, soberly. "If I know anything about him, and I think I do, this whole clone thing bothers him more than he wants to admit."

"I know." She said with a small sigh as she played with her wedding and engagement rings somewhat absently. "But he's not talking to me."

"Welcome to being married to Jack O'Neill," the cadet said, bitterly. "Why do you think Sara left him?"

Sam tensed.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "That was out of line. You're a superior officer..."

Sam swallowed. "I'm not as naive as either of you might think," she managed. "I know he feels like he's being replaced. By a younger and stronger version of himself, no less. That he feels old and useless, and that despite the hype, he doesn't like being retired. Just thinks it's the best thing for our family and the Program right now."

He nodded slowly.

"Did you make a final decision about the post here?"

"How would this work? I can't be commander..."

"No, but you could be paired with another officer who knew and understood how much experience you actually have."

Neill bit the inside of his cheeks before shaking his head. "No. I'm not going to take the post until Jack's okay with it." He stood. "If I may be excused?"

Sam nodded slowly.

He saluted before leaving, and she rested the back of her head against the leather backboard of the chair. "Jack..." She groaned.

* * *

She had tried to call Jack all morning, and had gotten no answer. None whatsoever. That man could be spiteful and vindictive, she seethed as the klaxons began sounding their alarm.

She hurried down to the gate room. "What is it?"

"We have an intruder, ma'am." Walter said, looking over at her.

"Again?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded. "And...I think you'll recognize him, ma'am," he said, quickly pulling up video surveillance of one of the holding cells where she could see her husband yelling and shaking his fist at the security camera.

She closed her eyes as she sighed. "I'll handle it, Chief."

He nodded as she slowly walked down the corridor to the elevator and to the holding cell which imprisoned her husband. She nodded to the SF who opened the door for her. She stepped into the room, and Jack stood up quickly from where he sat on one of the bottom bunk beds.

Sam opened her mouth, but Jack hit the top of his head on one of the support beams for the higher bunk. "Damn," he murmured, wincing.

Sam sighed softly as she waited for him to explain what he was doing.

He looked back at her. "That hurt." He said, noticing her look.

"I gathered that," she said, folding her arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to get your attention."

"You did a hell of a job," she said, seriously. "There's nothing like nearly having a heart attack because you think you're under attack only to find out that your retired husband decided to pay a visit to a base which he's not currently authorized to even know about."

"It's a little late to erase it from my memory," he snapped.

"What do you want?" She asked, impatiently.

"To talk."

"So, talk."

"Here?"

"This is what you get for the moment." She said, coldly.

"Okay..." He said, inhaling as he sat down. "I feel like sharing...how about you?"

"I'm a very busy woman, Jack. I need you to get to the point."

"The point is that it bothers me that you even considered letting him back here." He said, finally.

"I could have told you that last night," she said, raising an eyebrow.

He sighed before looking down at the ground somewhat dejected. "Coming here was a bad idea..." He muttered.

She softened slightly. "Jack, I know you don't want to be replaced. And quite frankly, I'm not too crazy about it either, but..." She bit her lip and looked down at the ground before she looked back up at him. "We need your expertise. And you're retired now..."

He nodded slowly as she stepped toward him. "Look, I have some leave that I could take. Just a few days, but...it would be enough to visit the cabin."

He perked up slightly.

"Say the word and I'll take them," she whispered softly.

"You don't need to do that," he said, looking back at her more tenderly.

"I think I do." She said, soberly. "I think we - you, Grace, and I - need to spend some quality time together again."

He nodded in agreement.

She bit her lip and looked down at her hands which were twisting nervously.

"I'm sorry," he said, breaking the awkward silence.

She looked up with shining eyes. "I'm sorry too," she whispered, sincerely.

He smiled softly, reaching out to hug her before he pulled back more soberly. "Any word about whether or not he's going to take your offer?"

"He doesn't want to upset you," she said, softly. "He turned it down this morning."

He was silent for a few moments. "He should do it."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You're right that you need someone with his experience. Someone out in the field - not in Washington."

She studied him closely. "Are you sure about this?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She swallowed. "I guess i have a call to make then."

"I guess I'll be heading home then." He said with a shrug. He wanted to hold her closely and kiss her gently, but that would probably be unwise here on the base.

"Jack?" She asked, allowing her eyes to follow him as he paced around the small cement room.

"Hm?" He asked, turning back to him.

"Hold me for a minute?" She asked, somewhat vulnerably.

"My pleasure," he said as he smiled softly, wrapped his arms around her, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

She held him tightly for a few moments before she pulled away. "I've got to get back to work, but I'll try to be back early tonight."

He nodded. "Sure."

She looked over at him, almost wanting not to leave. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

He chuckled softly. "I know."

She turned around and knocked on the door, somewhat troubled that he hadn't returned her sentiments.

"Sam?"

She turned. "Yes?"

"I love you too." He said, blowing her a kiss as the SFs opened the door.

She smiled softly before ducking out into the corridor.

"What's the verdict, ma'am?"

"Escort him to the surface," Sam said, turning a soft eye back to her husband. "He's no threat to us."


	6. Cabin

_Author Note: Apologies for the spottiness of posting and whatever inconsistencies may have arisen. I was erring on the side of caution given the fact that Jack's no longer in the "loop", and at this point, hasn't been in the loop for nearly a year now. Someone mentioned the Hammond visit in "The Fourth Horseman", and I think it might have been slightly different given the fact that he was at Andrews in an official capacity and probably coming to check on the status of the latest disaster (as I would imagine he would have known about the origins of the virus since he was exposed to it) whereas Jack was not there in any official capacity, just to see his wife.  
_

_In any case, my mind has been a little distracted in finishing up my bachelor's degree and moving back home while I figure out "what next". Once more, apologies for the inconsistencies._

* * *

"Eighty-eight bottles of beer on the wall! Eighty-eight bottles of beer!" Jack sang with great gusto as he drove from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport to the cabin. "Take one down, pass it around, eighty-seven bottles of beer on the wall!"

"Are you going to do this the WHOLE way to the cabin?" Grace asked with a heavy sigh.

Sam had to hide a tiny chuckle as Jack looked in the rearview mirror with a look of absolute shock encompassed his features. "What? You don't love this tradition of ours?"

"What's there to love?" She asked, cheekily. "It's just a bunch of dudes sitting around and getting drunk on beer..."

Sam had to clasp a hand on her mouth to keep from guffawing. Even with her precautions, however, Jack threw a dirty look her way. "I suppose you agree?" He asked with mock loftiness.

"She has a point," she said with a small chuckle.

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he pulled into the gravel driveway of his favorite place on earth. "Whatever. We're here anyway."

Sam slipped out of the front seat, stretching lightly as Grace and Jack got out of the other side of the SUV.

"Ah," Jack murmured, looking at the cabin with a loving eye. "Home, sweet cabin."

Sam chuckled softly as she reached into the car and pulled out her overnight bag and the cooler. "Come on, you two, lunch and then fishing."

"Why do we always fish in the afternoons?" Grace asked, following her mother with her own overnight bag. "My teacher says that fish don't usually bite after ten in the morning."

Sam turned an eye to her husband who was looking stoically at the floor.

"Jack..." She prodded, gently.

"And we never catch any fish." Grace continued. "Can we get up at four tomorrow morning and fish? Maybe we'd catch some fish."

Sam coughed gently in an effort to hide a chuckle, and her husband looked over at his daughter. "Well, Grace...it's not always about how many fish you catch..."

She looked at him skeptically. "Uh huh...that's what Billy said people say when they've never caught a fish before."

Sam tried to hide the amused smile that was rapidly growing on her lips, and she caught Jack's pointed eye.

"I'll have you know I've caught plenty of fish before." Jack cried, indignantly.

"Just not here," Sam said, trying but failing to keep a smile from her lips. "Because there are no fish in the pond."

"I KNEW IT!" Grace cried, triumphantly, as she raced to her room to unpack and begin reading her book again.

"Now, why'd you have to go and ruin the secret?" Jack asked with a mock-sigh as he looked over at his wife.

"Because she knew the answer, but was waiting for someone to admit it," she laughed softly as she walked over and kissed him gently.

She pulled away, and he wrapped his arms firmly around her. "Hey, don't go yet...I have a few more questions that need answering."

"Oh?" She asked, playfully.

"Yep." He said, nodding with a small wink. "Number one: Are you really as relaxed as you seem?"

She nodded, and he saw the genuine sparkle in her eyes return. "Yep."

"Good." He said, kissing her nose affectionately. "Now...number two..."

"What is it?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Was it entirely necessary to lock up the retired head of homeworld security in Cheyenne Mountain?"

She laughed heartily at the disgusted look on his face. "No."

"Then, why did you do it?"

"Well, first of all, the IOA has changed some of their policies regarding unauthorized guests."

"But I..."

"And...the SFs at the front were new."

"Ah." He said with sudden understanding. "But the whole... "he's no threat to us" thing?"

She tried to hide her look of chagrin.

"I knew it! You were getting me back for being such a jerk!"

She shrugged with an all-too innocent look in her eye. "One of the perks of being "the man" as you put it."

"That," he said, pointing at her. "Was evil."

"I have my moments," she chuckled.

They laughed together for a few moments, and Sam reflected internally to herself how nice it had been to literally and figuratively let her hair down. And after the last several months of running the SGC, it was more than time to do so.

"Sam..."

She looked up at him from where she still stood, wrapped in his arms. "Yes?"

"Tonight...after Grace goes to bed..."

"Yeah?" She asked, prodding him gently.

"Don't make plans."

She grinned. "I was going to say the same thing to you."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "I was thinking I could use a massage after all my hard work at the Mountain," she teased, cheekily.

He uttered a low chuckle appreciatively. "Well, I think we can work a massage in there somewhere," he smiled.

She laughed softly as she pulled away and walked up to the kitchen counter. "If you're going to fish before it gets dark, I should get to making the sandwiches."

She reached for the cooler and began unpacking the sandwich fixings from it. "Hey, I think I'm going to go to the grocery store while you and Grace start your fishing. Just so that we have something edible to fix for dinner," she said, pulling sandwich meats, bread and condiments from the cooler.

"You know," he said, slipping his arms around her waist as he kissed the soft flesh on her neck. "I can help you with those."

She chuckled softly as she looked back over at him. "I know you can." She said with an affectionate smile. "But for once, I want you to kick back and relax and let me wait on you..."

"Ooh...waiting on me?"

She offered him an amused smile as she returned to her work.

"Ignoring me now, huh?"

"It's not that hard," she teased.

"Oh, thanks," he laughed.

"Let's get the sandwiches made, you off fishing and me off to the grocery store," she said, matter-of-factly. "Then, we can talk about some...alone time."

"Ah...well...actually, I was thinking maybe you could go and hang out with your daughter while I make the sandwiches."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Look, you haven't seen much of her the last few months." He said, softly. "You both might enjoy some bonding."

"I would like to talk to her." She admitted.

"Then why don't you two fish or paint each other's toenails or whatever, and I'll do the grocery shopping and the cooking tonight."

"You've been picking up a lot of the slack for me," she murmured, worriedly. "And I don't want..."

"Hey, you have a full-time job. I'm retired. I'll do the house stuff. It's okay." He shrugged.

"But this is your vacation too..."

"Go talk to Grace." He urged, leaning in and kissing her gently. "You can cook tomorrow."

"Deal," she finally acquiesced as she turned to leave.

"Hey," he called.

She turned around, questioningly.

"I know the last few weeks have been a bit...tough...on both of us..."

She tensed slightly.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew..." He began, swallowing. "I really do love you."

She smiled softly. "I know." She bit her lip. "I, uh...I love you too."

"But?" He prodded, gently.

"But we need to talk about some things tonight. Work out how to keep this from happening again," she said, seriously.

He nodded. "I agree. The mini-me thing didn't go well."

"No, it didn't." She said, more soberly.

"We'll talk tonight."

She nodded slowly.

"After Grace goes to bed."

"Good time to do that," she admitted.

"Go. Bond. I'll have lunch ready when you emerge."

She managed a small smile before she nodded. "Okay."

She turned to leave, but he caught her by the wrist and pulled her into his arms. As he wrapped his arms around her, he pressed his lips against hers in a fiery and mind-numbing kiss.

It was a few moments before he pulled away from her. "I don't know what I would do without you, Samantha Carter," he murmured as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I don't tell you that enough. I don't show you that enough."

She had tears moistening her eyes. "Well, this was a great start," she whispered as she leaned up to kiss him again, more delicately and tenderly this time.

He held her tightly. "I promise to do better," he whispered in her ear.

"Me too." She promised.

"I love you, Sam."

"I love you too, Jack."


	7. Teammates

"Mind if I come in?" Brigadier General Samantha Carter asked as she walked into Daniel's lab-like office.

He looked up from his ancient texts with a smile. "Hey! Long time no see!"

She smiled softly.

"How was the cabin?"

"Good. Really good." She said, seriously.

"You and Jack get back on the same page?"

She nodded, happily. "Yeah. It was good to talk without the stress and worry that I'd be called out at a moment's notice."

"And Grace?"

She grinned. "It was fun to play with her too." The grin began to fade into a more wistful look as she grew more pensive. "She's growing up so fast..."

Daniel allowed her a moment before he coughed softly. "So...any news?" He asked, looking back at her.

She managed an uncomfortable smile. "Uh...no."

"Ah. Well, it will happen in its own time."

"Unless it's too late," Sam said, tensing. "Anyway..."

"Anyway..." He said, looking back at her.

"I need SG-1 to come for a briefing. I have a couple of new teammates for you."

"Teammates?" He asked, surprised. "As in...plural?"

She nodded. "It's about time for some replacements for Cam and me."

"We're doing okay, aren't we?"

"Yes, but...I've had some pressure from the Pentagon to get some military support for your team, and frankly, I agree with them." She tensed slightly. "Besides...I think you'll approve of who I found."

"Oh?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow somewhat skeptically.

She nodded.

"Okay. When do you want us there?"

"ASAP. SG-1 is coming up on the mission rotation, and I think it would be good if your new teammates were acclimated by the time you go off."

"All right then." He said, nodding. "Let me gather up Vala and Teal'c, and we'll meet you up in the briefing room."

"Great. Thanks." She said, heading out the door.

"General!" A voice called from behind her as she walked back up to her office.

"Yes, sergeant?" She asked, turning to see one of the gate technicians hurrying toward her.

"General Landry called. He said it was urgent."

"I'll be up in a few moments." She said, nodding. "I'll call him back then."

"And General Peterson is waiting for you in your office."

Sam's eyes widened. "From the Academy?"

The young woman nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"I wonder what he wants," she asked herself absently.

"He didn't say," the sergeant confirmed.

"Like I said, I'll be up there soon." She said, pressing the button for the elevator.

-

She walked into her office a few moments later. "General Peterson." She greeted with a small smile as she offered her hand in greeting. "How can I help you?"

He shook her hand before she walked around to the other side of the desk. "I have an idea that I was hoping you could help me run by your husband." He said as they both sat down in their respective seats.

"Oh?" She asked, surprised.

He nodded. "It was Hank Landry's idea actually, but I think it's great."

"What is it?"

"We need a new Stargate Program training consultant to bridge the gap between the Program and the Academy. Hank thought Jack might be willing to consider it."

Sam thought for a moment. "No reason to think that he wouldn't."

"That way we can free up the personnel who have been rotating through for their usual duties."

"Well, I can see how Jack would feel about it," she said, nodding. "Or if you would like, I can be in on the meeting where you present it. Doesn't matter much to me."

"I think it might seem more official coming from me," he admitted. "But I wanted to make sure we had your support."

She nodded. "If Jack wants to do this, then, I'm behind it. Just set up the meeting with Walter so that it gets on my schedule."

He nodded as he stood. "Will do."

Sam rose herself, and walked toward the door directly opposite her chair.

"I hear you managed to convince Cadet Neill to come into the program upon graduation." He said as he walked toward the door.

Sam chuckled softly. "It didn't take much convincing."

"No, I suppose not. Especially if it's true what you say about who he really is."

"It is." She assured.

"Well, good luck, Sam." He said, offering her another hand shake. "I'll have my secretary call Walter and set up a meeting. Sound good?"

She nodded. "Sounds great. Bye, Brad."

She looked through the window to see Daniel, Vala, and Teal'c sitting around the conference table in the briefing room. "Walter?" She called.

The spry gray-haired Chief Master Sergeant was instantly outside her door. "Ma'am?"

"It's time."

-

"Don't you remember what happened when Landry put that...Major Gleason on our team?" Vala whined.

"Yes. If I recall correctly," Daniel said, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "You shot him."

"Accidentally." Vala defended. "He was out of formation."

"I believe it was you who was out of formation," Teal'c said, matter-of-factly.

"Catching up on old times?" Sam asked as she walked into the briefing room with a small smile as she thought about the airman who had learned never to insult Vala when she "accidentally" shot him in the six after a comment he'd made about the impracticality of her hair style for field duty.

Vala would have been severely punished if this same airman hadn't been sexually harassing half of the base females and mysteriously dodging responsibility with each and every accusation. Much to Landry's chagrin.

And since Vala and Gleason had been the only two witnesses to the event, Landry had given Vala a slap on the wrist, asking her to be more careful, while Gleason had been transferred out during his recovery on Dr. Lam's recommendation. The fact that he'd never been transferred back in had been promptly celebrated by the entire base.

At least, that had been how Landry had explained the incident to her when she and Jack had gone to lunch with him just a few weeks before she took command.

"Samantha, must we have a new team member?" Vala whined.

"Yes." Sam said, nodding soberly. "But I hope you'll approve of my choice. He actually requested the position when he heard that it was open."

"Oh, great...another Mitchell..." Daniel groaned as he let his head fall to the table.

"Not another one," a familiar voice said with a chuckle as he walked into the room.

"Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c said with a smile as Cam walked into the room.

"Who knew I'd be one of the band members who had to repent of his ways and come back," he joked as Vala ran over to hug him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She cried over and over again.

Cam threw a look to Sam, who chuckled. "She's just grateful you're not anyone else..."

"Like that...Major Gleason," Vala shuddered.

"O...kay..." He said, obviously confused.

"I thought you said team members." Daniel said, looking at Sam. "Who's the other one?"

Sam turned to Cam, who'd been briefed on the situation upon his arrival several hours ago.

"Go ahead," he said, motioning to her. "You're in command now..."

She smiled softly before turning back to the team. "Well, Daniel, uh...you and Teal'c have already met him before."

Daniel's eyebrows raised as he exchanged a look with Teal'c.

"Vala and Cam, you haven't met him...exactly...but I'm sure you'll recognize some...familiar...aspects to his personality."

"Sam..." Daniel said, looking at her, confused.

"Cadet," she invited, turning to the door.

John Neill walked into the room, dressed in his cadet uniform.

"Cadet?" Daniel asked as his already raised eyebrows shot up even further.

"He'll be graduating this spring, and at that time, he will join SG-1." Sam said, nodding.

"You're putting a barely graduated cadet from the Academy on the frontline team?" Daniel asked, skeptically.

"Cadet John Neill has a unique set of qualifications."

"Like what?"

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, Danny." Neill said, rolling his eyes. "It's like you've forgotten me or something."

"Excuse me?" Daniel asked, his brow furrowing.

"I believe this is General O'Neill's much younger clone," Teal'c explained, calmly.

"Get out!" Vala cried, staring at the cadet. "Mini-Jack?"

Neill winced.

"His name is John Neill, and upon graduation, I think you will find him a most capable officer." Sam said, professionally. "And though he may have many of the General's memories and skills, I would like you to treat him as his own person. He has been working very hard over the last eight years to separate himself from his old life."

"By joining the Air Force?" Daniel asked, skeptically.

"Look, Danny, I'm an engineer now. I finished an online Master's program in the last couple of years of my program with the support of my superiors, and General Petersonmade a call to Landry who apparently told Carter, here, about my potential."

"And as you know, you've been missing a certain...scientific...aspect to your team for a few years now." Sam said, soberly. "Having an engineer on your team would be good, I think."

"Besides, I've been watching Carter for a few years. I think I might be able to save our butts a few times. Even if it's not as good as when Carter would."

Sam managed an appreciative smile as she looked over at the younger version of her husband.

"General, ma'am?" Walter said, poking his head in the door.

"Yes, Walter?"

"General Landry is on line one. He says it's urgent."

"Right. Thank you." She said, nodding. She looked back at the rest of the group. "If you'll excuse me?"

They all nodded as she headed back into her office.

"So...you're calling yourself John now?" Daniel asked, looking at the clone who rolled his eyes.


	8. Appointment

Sam walked in the front door, setting her briefcase just inside the door. "I'm home!" She called, cheerfully. She'd managed for once in a long time to get home earlier than she thought possible. The negotiations that she and Paul Davis had mediated between two alien nations had gone considerably better than she'd anticipated. It was always interesting to see the brotherhood that natural disasters tended to foster among opposite peoples. It would probably be back to war in a few months, but now, they had at least a voice in the delegates' ears.

"Mommy!" Grace cried, running into the entry way with her long brown ponytail trailing behind her. With arms open wide, she hugged her mother tightly. "You're home!"

"Yes, angel, I am." Sam said, hugging Grace tightly. "How was school?"

"You're looking at the new princess for the school play," Jack said, entering the room.

"Really?" Sam asked, pulling back so that she could get a better look at her daughter, who was now blushing.

"It's because I can sing better than a lot of people in my class," she said, embarrassed.

"Oh, angel, that's great!"

"Will you come to my play, Mommy?"

"Of course I will." Sam assured with a smile as she stood. "When is it?"

"I'll call Walter with the date and time," Jack said as she leaned in for a kiss.

"Have I mentioned how nice it is to have such an attractive secretary as you?" She teased before brushing her lips against his.

"Oh, thanks," he mockingly huffed.

She smiled softly. "How was your day?"

"Uh, good." He said, nodding. "Got a call from Peterson's secretary."

"Oh?" She asked, surprised.

He nodded. "Yeah. Something about a meeting?"

"Yeah, he wants you to run a training program through the Academy."

"Not usually something that a retired three-star takes over..."

She chuckled softly. "Since when have you been conventional?"

He returned her chuckle. "True enough."

She wrapped an arm around his waist comfortably before resting her cheek on his shoulder as Grace returned to her book. "So, what are your thoughts about the training thing?"

"I'm not sure."

"Jack, you could be done in time to pick Grace up from school," she began. "You could probably even swing it so that you were able to drop her off at school too."

"Sam..."

"I know you protested at first, but I also know how much fun you didn't want to admit you had when you were training Lieutenants Hailey, Grogan, Satterfield, and Elliott." She said, seriously.

"Yeah, and one of the four was dead in only a matter of weeks."

She tensed as she remembered Lieutenant Elliott and the unique relationship she'd developed with him and his symbiote, Lantesh, in only the last few hours of his life.

"I know," Jack soothed, apologetically, as he rubbed her arm. "But let's be honest, I've gotten sentimental in my old age. When I took the job at the Pentagon, it was partly because I'm tired of being the guy who has to tell the families."

"You wouldn't be that guy, Jack," she whispered softly. "You'd send them to me, and then, I'd be that..." She paused for a moment. "Guy..."

"Sam..."

She looked over at him, soberly. "You convinced me to take this job about a year ago," She reminded. "And you did that because you thought it was best for me."

"Yeah, and it has been good for you." He assured.

"Stressful, but good," she agreed, nodding. She caught his eye with the seriousness of her gaze. "I know you want to spend all of your time with Grace, but she's in school, and this would be the perfect thing to keep you from going completely Martha Stewart on me," she joked lightly.

He chuckled under his breath.

She inhaled as she looked at her hands before she looked back up at him. "You mentioned the fact that Elliott died only a few weeks after his training with you..."

He nodded slowly, suddenly more serious himself.

She swallowed. "What about Hailey? She's a Major now, and the leader of SG-4. She's still out there saving lives. And Satterfield? She's on Hailey's team, and Daniel has to pull her in sometimes to verify that they're on the same page when it comes to some ancient dialect. And Grogan is still a bit of a moving target," she laughed softly, "But he's been awarded the Congressional medal of honor for flying F-302s over Antarctica when you saved the planet from Anubis. He and his wife just had a baby girl." Sam's eyes were moistened in tears. "Don't tell me you want this retired life, Jack. I know you, and I know that you're miserable clipping coupons and planning menus. I'm not saying it's not for some people, but you're not one of those people, and you don't have to be."

She cupped her hands around his cheeks as she leaned in and kissed him softly. "You have a chance to do what ever Lieutenant General would kill for," she whispered, looking him in the eyes. "A chance to send your legacy back out into the field. To make a meaningful difference for someone other than a piece of paper, a pen, and a wall of bureaucrats."

He snorted.

"I'm not going to push you into something you don't want to do, but I think this would be good for you," she said, earnestly.

"Well, I trust your judgment," he said, affectionately. "So...I'll talk to Peterson. Find out what exactly he wants."

"Someone to liaise with my office, I'm sure," she laughed.

"Ooh," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "You and I liaise so well after all."

She chortled. "I'd hope so. Kind of a must if we really do want to keep trying for another baby."

He gently stroked her shoulder as his mind drifted deeply into thought.

She was silent as she watched him for a few moments, just dragging his finger up and down her arm slowly.

"Sam?"

"Hm?"

"I would understand if you didn't want to keep trying..."

She raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"I mean, you have this new job. A lot of responsibility..."

"Jack, there's nothing that could be further from the truth," she promised. "I want to have a baby with you. I want to keep trying."

"Okay," he nodded slowly. "But if you ever change your mind..."

"I won't, Jack." She whispered, softly. She ducked her head gently as she offered him a lingering kiss. "I will never change my mind about wanting to have your child."

He patted her knee, gently, before standing. "I've got to go and check on dinner."

She watched him go. Another wall, another barrier. Would it never end?


	9. Lunch

"General, ma'am?" Walter asked, poking his head into Sam's office.

"Yes, Walter?"

"You have a call from General O'Neill at the Academy."

She smiled softly. "Thank you, Walter."

"He's on line one."

She nodded as she picked up the phone and retrieved the line. "Carter," she greeted, trying to hide the smile on her lips that she got when her husband called.

"What? This isn't Landry's office?" He teased. "I could have sworn I called Hank Landry..."

"Ha. Ha." She said, raising an eyebrow.

He chuckled softly. "How are you?"

"Good. How about you? New job working out okay?"

"Yeah. I'm working with a bunch of idiots, but they're the future of the Air Force, so I guess I'm supposed to get used to it or something."

"Translation: you like them. A lot." She smiled, affectionately.

"They're not that bad," he admitted. "Woefully unprepared for what they're going to face when they get out into the field, but...who wasn't?"

"I know I was unprepared for it," she agreed.

"I knew that. I could tell the minute you had that big lunch."

She rolled her eyes. "Is this a social call or do you need something?"

"I'm your husband!" He cried with mock surprise. "Do I always have to have an ulterior motive to call you? Can't I just want to hear your voice?"

"So this is a social call?"

"Actually, no." He said, more matter-of-factly.

"And you wonder why I get suspicious," she said, dryly.

"Never said I wondered," he returned with a chuckle.

She laughed softly. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you have any teams that are off the mission rotation?"

"Yes, I do," she said, reaching for a file folder. "Why do you ask?"

"I need some people to help out with some training scenarios."

"Like the Tok'ra-Goa'uld scenario we did for Elliott and his team?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah," he said, wryly. "And on that subject, I was wondering if I could bother you for a lunch date."

"How are those two things on the same subject?" She asked, pausing in her work.

"Uh, well...I was hoping to pick your brain about some of the most recent offworld excursions."

"And you wanted me to look over the scenarios you've already come up with?"

"Yep."

"And this will take a whole lunch hour?"

"I hope it would take more than one," he said, sincerely.

She smiled softly. "Well, I think I'll have some time this afternoon if you want to come into the Mountain."

"And get put in solitary confinement again? I don't think so." He teased.

"I'll make sure to let the SFs know to expect you," she chuckled.

"Well, if you promise," he laughed.

"How's one-thirty?" She asked, looking at her laptop planner which was automatically synchronized with whatever Walter would put in it.

"Sounds good for me. I'm still getting my bearings here."

"Great." She said, softly. "I'll see you in my office at one-thirty, and we'll go from there..."

"See you then." He said, more soberly. "Hey, I love you."

She smiled tenderly. "I love you too, Jack."

**-**

She was typing diligently at her computer. She had a handful of reports which needed to go out as soon as was humanly possible, and she wanted to get a start on them before Jack showed up**.**

Just then, she heard a knock on the door. "Pizza delivery for the most gorgeous woman in Cheyenne Mountain..."

She looked up to see her husband with a pizza in his hands, and she smiled softly. "Hi."

"Whatcha doin'?" He asked, walking in and setting the pizza on an empty corner of her desk.

"Reports." She sighed in disgust.

"My favorite part of this job," he laughed.

She managed a small chuckle as she closed the laptop and set it aside. "So...pizza..."

"It's better than the junk they try to pass for food in the mess hall."

She laughed as he produced a few slices of veggie pizza for her. "True enough," she said, offering him a grateful smile.

"And...I got you a salad," he said, retrieving a small salad from a small grocery sack.

"My hero," she teased, good-naturedly.

"I will never understand how you can put vegetables on a pizza and like it," Jack said, shaking his head as he picked up a few slices of his half of the pizza. "I mean...it's so wrong!"

She chuckled as she reached for one of the napkins he'd brought along. "Maybe," she acknowledged. "But it pleases me."

"Well, as long as it pleases you," he chuckled as he sat in the chair opposite her desk.

She offered him a smile before she looked over at one of the file folders on the side of her desk. "Teams who would be available for immediate consultation," she said, pushing it toward him. "Right now, we have SG-1, SG-6, and SG-13 off the mission rotation because of injuries sustained in the field."

"Oh?" He asked, surprised.

She nodded, knowing that his concern was mostly for the members of SG-1. "Mitchell tore his ACL and Vala's pregnant."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Apparently, they came across a new civilization, and Daniel was interested in checking it out. By the time Mitchell started to see that they'd gotten invited to the annual fertility festival, Daniel and Vala were...otherwise occupied...and the natives were offended at Mitchell's attempts to...interrupt."

"Yikes."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, I gave Daniel and Vala a few days to sort things out, and Mitchell's been ordered to stay off his leg, but..." She hesitated. "John and Teal'c would be available..."

"John...as in..."

"Your clone." She affirmed.

"Ah." He said with sudden understanding. "Maybe I'll check out SG-6 and SG-13."

"You don't have to use both Neill and Teal'c. You can just use Teal'c," she said, recognizing the awkwardness of the situation. "I'm sure he'd understand."

"Yeah. I'll think about it."

She bit her lip as she looked back down at her pizza. Deciding that silence was best for the moment, she pulled a piece up to her lips as she prepared to take a bite.

"How's, uh, how's Neill doing?" Jack asked after a few moments.

"He's, uh, he's fine." She said, cautiously. "He's working really well with Mitchell, but Mitchell gives him a little latitude that he might not get from..." She hesitated. "Other...commanders."

Jack nodded slowly.

"Have you met any of the cadets yet?" She asked, looking over at him after swallowing a bite of her pizza.

"No." He said, shaking his head. "Peterson wants me to get accustomed to the job today, and I'll meet the cadets who are being considered for the Program tomorrow."

She nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."

"I've been reviewing the previous plan for training for the most part today."

"Which has been hard to regulate because it's been done on this rotation basis with all of the Stargate teams," she acknowledged.

He nodded. "Precisely. Some have been more prepared than others for the offworld environment, and I'm trying to come up with a more...standardized training."

"I think your approach with Elliott's team was good. A little on the brutal side," she admitted. "But good." She swallowed as she studied her husband's look of sober reflection. "And Elliott didn't die because you didn't train him well enough." She swallowed. "If it hadn't been for Lantesh, he probably would have died in the initial cave-in."

He nodded slowly.

"I think he learned more from you than you think," she said after a moment.

He looked up at her, confused.

"He made the ultimate sacrifice for his team." She said, soberly. "And though it was never verbalized, I think he knew what you expected of yourself."

"I've never endorsed dramatic heroics." He mumbled.

"No," she agreed. "But you've done more than your share of dramatic heroics. And I think your countless lessons in making sure that nobody gets left behind left their mark on him."

"That wasn't me, Sam," he murmured, quietly. "That was him. He came that way. I just saw the potential and fed it."

"And that's why you got this job," she whispered, touching his hand softly.

He managed a grateful smile as Walter knocked on the door. "Ma'am?"

"Yes, Walter?"

"SG-4 is ready to debrief."

"Thank you, Walter." She said, nodding before she looked down at her husband.

He quickly waved her concern aside. "Don't worry about me. I'll clean this up, make an appointment to have lunch tomorrow so we can actually go over the scenarios I've got planned, and go pick up Grace."

"I shouldn't be too much longer."

"Barring an emergency, right?"

"You know my job too well, General." She teased as she quickly cleaned up her desk.

He laughed softly. "I'll wait up then."

"Love you."

"Love you too," she winked as she stood and walked out the door to the briefing room.


	10. Gratitude

"Enter." Teal'c said from where he sat, meditating in his quarters, when he heard the knock on the door.

Sam walked into the room. "Sorry." She said, instantly recognizing his meditation set-up. "Didn't mean to interrupt."

"You have not interrupted." Teal'c said with a smile flirting with the corners of his lips. "How may I be of service?"

"Well," Sam said, taking a few more steps into the room. "Jack's training some of recruits from the Academy. He wondered since your team's off the mission list if you wouldn't mind helping him with a few training scenarios."

"I would be honored." He said, seriously.

"Great! I'll let him know."

The Jaffa nodded, sedately.

"Teal'c?"

"Yes, General Carter?"

"First of all, I think it's about time you called me Sam," she blushed. "And secondly...uh," she hesitated for a moment. "Don't tell John."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"Having him on SG-1 is kind of a touchy subject for Jack right now, so..."

"I will refrain from speaking of Lieutenant Neill as well." He promised.

"Thanks, T." Sam said, gratefully.

"How is young Grace?" He asked as she turned to leave.

She paused, turning back. "She's good. Great."

"You miss spending time with your daughter," he said, perceptively.

"She and I aren't able to spend as much time together as I'd like," Sam admitted. "But we make up for it here and there."

He nodded.

"What about Rya'c?" She asked, looking over at him. "How are he and Cor'in?"

"They are well," he said with a small smile. "Thank you for asking."

"And the baby?"

Teal'c's smile grew into an ear-splitting grin. "She is strong. Like her mother and grandmother."

Sam grinned. "Good to hear it." She bit her lip after a moment. "Teal'c?"

"Yes, General Carter?"

"If you'd rather visit Rya'c than help Jack, I think he'd understand."

"Thank you," he said, nodding. "But I will aid O'Neill."

"He'd be very grateful," she said, honestly. "He misses working with the team."

"And we with him," he said, seriously.

"I'll be sure to tell him that when I get home tonight," Sam said with a small smile.

He nodded.

"Well, I should get back to work, and I should let you get back to your meditation."

"It was a pleasure to visit with you once again," Teal'c said, sincerely.

"You too, Teal'c." She said with a smile as she turned to leave.

-

She pressed the button to the elevator, waiting patiently for the steel doors to open and grant her entrance.

"Hey," a familiar voice murmured from beside her.

She turned to find Daniel, standing there with a pensive look on his face. "Hi." She said with a small smile.

He sighed softly. "Headed back to your office?"

"Yeah." She said, nodding.

They fell into silence for a few moments before the elevator doors opened, and they stepped in.

"How's Vala?" Sam asked after a moment.

"She, uh, wants nothing to do with me." He said after a moment. "Which, given the circumstances, I guess I'd feel the same way..."

"I doubt it's that bad," Sam tried to soothe.

Daniel's look told her that it really was.

"I'm sorry," she said with a small sigh.

"Hey, it's not your fault." He said, soberly. "You didn't know there was going to be a fertility ritual on that planet. Or that we'd get swept up in the festivities."

"No, but...I can sympathize with your position," she said after a moment.

He studied her for a few seconds. "Yeah, I guess you can."

"She'll come around."

"Maybe."

"It'll take some time, but I think she wants this baby as much as you do."

He nodded, silently.

Sam bit the inside of her cheek for a few moments.

"How are you and Jack doing?" Daniel asked, looking over at her.

"Uh, we're fine." She said, forcing a smile to her lips.

He raised an eyebrow, and she sighed. "We have our problems like everyone else. And...with my new job and the fact that we've been trying for the last year to get pregnant...it's a touchy subject at our house. I think he's trying to put up some defenses so that he won't get hurt if it never happens."

He nodded slowly.

"But I think the new job has been good for him. Gotten his mind off a lot of things."

"Like Neill?"

"You caught the tension there, huh?" She asked, uncomfortably, as the elevator doors opened again.

"Yeah."

"Jack's not too thrilled about it, but he recognizes that this is bigger than him. So, I don't mention it much, and I warn other people against bringing it up."

"Sounds like a good strategy." He said, stepping out of the elevator.

"Daniel?" She asked, studying him.

"Yeah?"

"How are you doing?"

He sighed. "I'm okay."

She gave him a skeptical look.

"Look, this is my first kid. And Vala doesn't even know if she really wants to keep it."

Sam tensed. "I see."

He sighed before shrugging. "You need to get back to work, and I need to get back to the translations I've been working on."

"If you need to talk..."

"I know." He interrupted.

She managed a sad smile as he walked off. Even with his idiosyncrasies, she was grateful for Jack. Through all their good times and their bad times, she always knew that he had her back. And that not solving something was never an option.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she walked back up to her office. "Walter?"

"Yes, ma'am?" He asked, appearing just outside her door almost instantly.

"Call Colonel Mitchell. I'm leaving the Mountain for a couple of hours."

"Ma'am?"

"I need to visit the Academy."

"Yes, ma'am." He said, stepping out again with an understanding smile.

-

Jack leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Something wrong, sir?" His wife asked from where she leaned against the doorway to his office.

He looked up in surprise. "Hi."

"Hi." She said with a grin.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, sitting up again.

"Bringing you lunch." She said, revealing a couple of cups of jello - red for him and blue for her.

"I think I love you," he said with a teasing wink.

"What would your wife say?" She teased back as she walked in.

"She's an understanding woman," he laughed.

"I see." She said, shaking her head in amusement as she retrieved a couple of ham and cheese sandwich from a small bag she'd brought with her.

"I thought you were an Air Force general with enormous responsibility," Jack joked as he accepted the bottle of water she offered him.

She threw him an amused smile. "Can't "the man" get a few hours off to see her husband?"

Jack choked on his water at her statement.

Sam grinned, clearly proud of herself.

Jack coughed once more as he tried to brush off the water which he'd accidentally spat onto his button-down shirt.

"Come on, Jack, are you the only one who can make grand gestures like this?" She asked, innocently.

"I'm supervising the training of a dozen cadets who are being considered for the Program," he murmured, raising an eyebrow. "It's considerably different than actually running the Program."

"And I'm having lunch to discuss the training of those cadets," she said with a wide smile.

"So, I'm just a business meeting..." He teased.

"My most attractive one of the day," she said, turning on her full mega-watt smile.

"I missed that," he said after a moment.

"Missed what?" She asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"That smile. You haven't grinned like that since...DC. What's going on?"

She looked at him more seriously. "I guess I just realized how lucky I am to have you."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Daniel and Vala...it doesn't look pretty right now."

"Ah." He said with sudden understanding.

"She doesn't want to have anything to do with Daniel right now."

"I see."

"You never did that to me." She said, managing a grateful smile. "Even with the miscarriage."

"You tried to push me away," he said after a moment.

She looked down, somewhat ashamed. "I know."

"I mean, I understood where you were coming from. More than almost anyone else I know..."

"And I'm grateful for that," she said, sincerely.

"I'm here, Sam." He said, soberly. "No matter what the future holds. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know." She said, softly. "And...I know this won't cover even a tenth of what I owe you for that, but...it's a start right?"

"Hey, you brought me the right colored jello," he said, more lightheartedly. "I'm good."

She laughed softly before looking back at him. "I love you, Jack. I don't say it enough."

"I love you too," he said, seriously.

"And if you...if you need to stop trying for a baby, I accept that."

He looked up. "What?"

"Jack, I saw the look on your face when you and I last talked about that...when you were trying to tell me that with my job I didn't need to feel obligated."

"Oh." He said with a small sigh.

"I don't want this to get between us, Jack. It can break some marriages, and I don't want ours to be one of..."

He raised a hand to silence her, and she stopped speaking. He pulled out a calendar, and handed it to her.

She swallowed as she noticed the circled date.

"Two years," she murmured softly.

He nodded.

"Two years since that night..." She whispered, vulnerably.

"I wanted you to know that if it didn't happen or if you'd changed your mind, that I'd be okay."

She managed a small smile. "Thank you."

"But if you don't want to change your mind, then I think we should keep trying." He said with a small wink.

She chuckled softly. "Maybe we could...go away. Just the two of us sometime."

"Sounds like it would be a good idea." He said with a small smile.

"I had to work on our anniversary," she said, shrugging. "We could...make that up..."

"You tell me when you can get leave, and I'll be there." He said, nodding.

She nodded. "Okay."

"Sam?" He asked a moment later.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for lunch." He said tenderly.

"You're welcome, Jack." She said softly.


	11. Greetings

The familiar sounds of the winding Gate mechanism cued Sam's entrance to the Control room. Her sharply pressed dress uniform matched her crisp and authoritative movements. "What've we got, Chief?" She asked, efficiently.

"SG-1's iris code, ma'am."

"Open the iris." She ordered as she turned to Major Davis who stood beside her. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," he murmured.

She chuckled softly as she walked down the stairs which led to the corridor which led to the Gate Room. They arrived at the base of the ramp as Mitchell, Daniel, Neill, Vala, and Teal'c walked down, followed by two delegates, a man and a woman.

"General Carter," Mitchell greeted, looking at Sam. "Major Davis, these are the delegates from P4G 357. He looked over his shoulder at the woman with red skin and a blond bob hair cut who wore a white floor-length robe which flowed freely. "This is Marukena. She's the chief negotiator for the Hmenth people."

Sam bowed her head in respect, mirroring the gesture of the other woman. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, soberly.

"And this is the political second-in-command to the Hmenth emperor," Daniel said, motioning to her male counterpart. "Shamalach, may I present General Samantha Carter, the commander of this facility?"

The pale man with spiked green hair who wore a long, jeweled robe of the richest emerald color Sam had ever seen, bowed in the same manner as his female companion. "I bring greetings from the Emperor," he said, seriously.

Sam returned the gesture. "And I bring greetings from our President."

The woman walked up to her, taking Sam's left hand between her red ones. "May your life be long, your happiness complete, and your posterity numerous." Marukena intoned soberly before kissing Sam's wedding ring.

Sam managed an uncomfortable smile as her eyes darted to Daniel for a moment, who shrugged. She looked back at the woman. "Thank you. Uh...Same to you..."

"May we offer this perfume in a personal gesture of goodwill," Shamalach said, stepping forward and revealing a small vial of amber-colored liquid from the protection of his hands.

"Thank you," Sam said, gratefully.

They looked at her, expectantly, and Daniel coughed gently before gently rubbing his neck with his hand as if he was applying cologne or aftershave.

She got the hint, and applied a small dab to her pulsepoints. The scent reminded her of jasmine, rose, lavendar, and vanilla all rolled up in one scent. There was even a little...amber? She couldn't explain how she smelled the sweet scent of the clear, gel-like tree secretion.

Almost instantly, Marukena and Shamalach looked pleased.

"We have a room upstairs that's been prepared for the negotiation." She invited, motioning to the corridor. The strong scent of the perfume made her somewhat dizzy as she half-turned. She blinked several times before managing to stabilize the room in her vision. "If you'll follow Major Davis, I'll meet you there in a moment." She turned to SG-1, who all eyed her with concern. "Uh...we'll debrief in two hours after your physicals and showers." She said, ignoring their concern.

They all turned to leave, but newly-promoted Lieutenant Neill stayed behind for a moment. "General, are you all right?"

"Fine, Lieutenant." She assured as Major Davis led the delegates through the corridor.

He swallowed before nodding. "Yes, ma'am."

-

_"Thera," her husband moaned as he kissed her lips tenderly._

_"Do it again, Jonah," she murmured as she felt the heat of his skin next to hers._

_He kissed the tender flesh in the crook of her neck, and she shivered with desire. "Jack..." She whispered as he lifted his eyes back to her._

_"Carter..." He murmured, affectionately, setting her senses on fire._

_"Jack..." She whispered, nipping at his lips with her own._

_"Carter?" His voice was distorted._

_"Jack? What's going on?"_

A cough woke her from her reverie. "General Carter," Major Davis said, catching her attention.

She flushed red as she realized she'd just fallen asleep and had experienced a fantasy about her husband during the negotiations. She coughed, uncomfortably, as she noticed the flush of the Major's cheeks. Apparently, it had been a vivid fantasy.

"Uh...I'm sorry." She tried to recover. "I think I'm just...tired..."

The Major nodded, quickly.

"May we continue this tomorrow?" She asked as she felt her cheeks flush.

"Of course." The delegates said, nodding sedately, as if nothing was wrong.

"Major, if you could accompany our guests to their prepared quarters?" She asked, standing.

"Yes, ma'am." He said, nodding.

She hurried into her office, closed the door and leaned against it in humiliation. What had happened in there? She'd never dozed off in a meeting, and certainly not embarassed herself so extensively in a negotiation.

The phone rang, and she walked over to answer it. "Carter," she greeted, praying that she sounded professional.

"General, ma'am?" Walter asked on the other side of the line.

"Yes, Chief?"

"Your husband is on the phone. Should I patch him through?"

"Why not?" She asked with a small sigh as she sat down in the leather chair. "He can't do much more than he already has."

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Walter asked, confused.

"Never mind. Patch him through." She said, closing her eyes.

"Carter," she greeted as she heard the sound that indicated that she'd picked up the call.

"Hey!" Jack said with an audible grin. "How's the love of my life?"

She couldn't help but smile as she heard his voice and the tender affection in his tone. "I'm good. How are you?"

"Pretty good."

"Good." She said with a smile. "How are things at the Academy?"

"I'm not at the Academy. It's fall break."

"Oh...right..." She said, remembering the conversation they'd had about his week of "freedom". "So, how's life at home?"

"It's okay," he said, nonchalantly. "I'm missing you." He admitted.

"Well, I should be wrapping things up here pretty quickly." She said with a chuckle. "Although, after the last meeting I had here, I think people will be grateful to get me gone sooner rather than later."

"Oh?" He asked, curiously.

She coughed, uncomfortably. "Uh..."

"Come on..." He prodded gently.

"I'll explain when we're alone at home," she said, turning red again.

"Fall asleep, huh?"

"In a manner of speaking," she said, cryptically.

"Now, I'm intrigued." He said with a small chuckle. "I can hear your embarrassment through the phone, and very little actually ruffles your feathers. This is a doozy..."

She bit her lip. "You have no idea..."

"Hey, I have an idea that I wanted to run past you."

"Oh?"

"You have the weekend off, right?"

"Yes."

"Why don't I see if Teal'c's available to watch Grace, and you and I go down to that bed and breakfast you took me to in Denver?"

"You read my mind," she murmured, returning for a moment to the scene which had played in her head only a few moments before.

"Uh...Sam..." He said, surprised by the sultriness of her voice.

"No! No!" She cried, realizing it had happened again. "Dammit!"

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on?"

"I'll be home in fifteen minutes." Sam said, grabbing her keys from the desk drawer. "I can't run the base with this looping in my head."

"Uh, okay..." He said, confused.

"And see if Grace can spend the night at a friend's. Teal'c's got a report due in the morning, and I'm not sure I can wait for Denver..."

He coughed in response. "Uh, Sam..."

"I've got to go." She said as she hung up the phone. "Walter!" She called.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Get Mitchell, please, and send him to my office."

"Yes, ma'am."

-

"Where's Grace?" Sam asked, somewhat frenzied as she walked in the door.

"At Sara Carmichael's house," he said, having seen Sam so sexually charged only once before in his life when she'd been afflicted with the Virus of the Touched. "Uh...Sam...are you okay?"

"Fine." She said, barely taking the time to drop her keys on the table in the entry way before she put her hands on her husband's cheeks and kissed him aggressively. "You taste good," she murmured between kisses.

"Uh, thank you..."

"You're welcome," she managed breathlessly as she began unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked, managing to push her away for a few moments.

"I missed you," she said, leaning over to kiss him again.

"Yeah, I missed you too, but you're not acting like yourself. What happened at the base?" He asked, studying her closely.

"Playing hard to get, hm?" She asked, leaning in closer, flirtatiously. "Trying to distract me with thoughts of work?"

"Are you wearing perfume?" He asked, catching a whiff of the alien perfume.

"Yeah. It was a gift from some delegates..." She said, huskily. "Do you like it?"

He coughed. "Uh...it's a little strong, don't you think?"

"I like it," she whispered as she kissed him once again.

He felt dizzy as he inhaled her scent involuntarily. "Sam...we need to talk...we need to take you to a doctor."

"I want you," she murmured as she nibbled on his earlobe just the way he liked.

"I can't...can you do anything except that?" He asked, feeling his rational mind slowly slipping away as the scent of her perfume wrapped itself around his every thought.

"Jonah..." She whispered with soft eyes as she looked into his eyes.

"Thera," he managed, huskily.

"Please, Jack," she pleaded with the same vulnerability that had pulled him from the very brink of death so many years before.

"God help us," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss with the same fervor and desire she'd sparked within him.


	12. Repercussions

"I feel like I had a whole bottle of scotch last night," Sam groaned as she hid her face under the pillow. "What the hell happened last night?"

"Well, we're not rich enough to indulge in two bottles of scotch a night," Jack responded from underneath his own pillow. "So, it wasn't that."

"Had to have been something big..."

"You came home early and I had Grace spend the night at a friend's house." He murmured. "That's all I remember."

"Wild Blue Yonder" blasted from her phone, causing her to wince in pain before reaching for the offending piece of technology. "Carter," she choked out.

"General," Walter greeted, almost too cheerily for Sam's tastes.

"Yes, Walter?" She asked in a borderline threatening tone.

"Major Davis wondered whether or not you were feeling well enough to join him for another round of negotiations?"

"No." She moaned, pressing a hand to her head. "I'm actually feeling worse than I did last night."

"I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am." He said, sincerely. "I'll let Major Davis know."

"Thank you, and Walter?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Have Mitchell turn command over to Reynolds so that he can get some rest."

"Yes, ma'am."

She hung up the phone before turning over to her husband. "Okay...who's on the aspirin run?"

"The person who started this...a.k.a. You."

"What?" Sam asked, incredulously. "How do you figure?"

"I'm starting to remember a few things. Namely you, perfume, and a recreation of the Virus of the Touched locker room scene only in our living room."

"Oy."

"You know what's worse?"

"What?" She asked, looking over at him.

"I dreamed of this day. You. Me. Recreating that event without those pesky regulations..."

"And?" She asked with an amused chuckle.

"I don't think it's for us." He said with a smile.

She laughed softly before sobering. "So...alien influence?"

"Probably."

"Walter didn't say anything about the base being strange."

"Maybe it only affected you."

"And you," she said, turning a pointed look in his direction.

"Because it affected you." He said, seriously.

"Can't argue that," she sighed.

"We have to be prodded by needles again, don't we?" Jack asked, looking over at her.

"Probably." She said, apologetically.

"Great," he murmured.

"You mentioned something about perfume," she said, looking over at him, curiously.

"Yeah. You were wearing some when you got home."

She nodded. "Yeah, I was, wasn't I?"

"What?"

"I got that perfume from an alien delegation as a gift," she said, looking over at him. "Daniel urged me to be polite and actually put some on..."

"And?"

"I got dizzy, and from then on, everything got a little more hazy as the day progressed."

His brow furrowed.

"I can't smell the perfume anymore," she said, looking over at him.

"Me either."

She inhaled. "I think we just found our alien influence."

"Yeah." He said, nodding.

"I mean, I have to run it by Carolyn, but..."

"No one else had any symptoms?" He interrupted, confused.

"Not to my knowledge. And I spent the whole day with Major Davis and the alien delegation."

He exhaled loudly. "How's that possible?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, there was some sort of...presentation that accompanied the perfume. One of the delegates kissed my wedding ring which I thought was a little weird, but..."

"What if that activated it just for us?" He theorized.

"Some sort of selective perfume?" She asked, skeptically.

"We've seen stranger things," he said, wryly.

She bit the inside of her cheek, pensively. "I guess...it's possible...I mean, they're humanoid, but more "oid" than human..."

"Maybe they have some sort of psychic connection with an organism which is in the perfume."

She looked skeptical.

"Or maybe this delegate activated a psychic connection between you and the organism..."

"Jack..."

"Look, I don't know what's going on, but I feel fine, and you feel fine, and I'm pretty sure that even just six hours ago, we weren't."

She nodded, soberly.

"So..."

"So, I guess I'm scheduling some physicals for us." She said with a sigh.

He nodded. "And I think we'd better see if Vala can watch Grace when she comes back from her sleepover."

Sam nodded soberly. "I think that would be best," she agreed.

"And to think I missed this," he said with a groan as he rolled out of bed.

She chuckled softly in spite of herself.

-

"Well, Generals, you're in perfect health," Carolyn said several hours later with a shake of her head. "And I ran every test I could possibly think of."

Sam bit the inside of her cheek. "So, it could have been something more like a pheromone complex..."

"If it was, I'm not sure why it didn't spread through the base, and only affected you two." Carolyn said, perplexed.

Sam nodded slowly.

"Sam?" Jack asked, noticing the look on her face.

"Before they gave me the perfume, the delegates said something like..."

"Live long and prosper?" Jack quipped, sarcastically.

Sam offered an appreciative smile as she shook her head. "It was almost like a...blessing...you know, something like you'd hear at a wedding."

Jack and Carolyn looked at her strangely.

"Something like..."may your life be long, your happiness full, and your..." She blushed lightly. "Uh, posterity numerous."

Carolyn's eyes widened.

"And then, the delegate kissed my wedding ring." She looked at her husband. "I think you may have been onto something when you said that there might have been some sort of...selection process."

"So, assuming you don't use the perfume, you should be fine?" Carolyn asked, skeptically.

"We're hoping." Sam said, seriously.

"Well, I'd like to keep an eye on you both for the next few weeks. Just to make sure, but...I can't see anything wrong for the time being. Let me know if you experience any episodes like you had last night."

Sam nodded soberly. "Will do."

"Well, in that case, I guess you're free to go."

"Thank you!" Jack cried, hopping off the gurney.

Sam chuckled softly at Carolyn's strange look. "He's not a big fan of the infirmary," she murmured under her breath.

"Ah." Carolyn said with a small smile.

"He's more of a little kid than a retired Air Force general," Sam said, affectionately.

"And proud of it," Jack announced as he stood next to his wife.

Sam beamed as she looked over at him.

"Well, enjoy your day of freedom," Carolyn smiled softly. "Might be all you need to relax."

Sam inhaled sharply as she nodded.

"I need to get back to my infirmary," Carolyn said, simply. "I'll see you tomorrow, General Carter."

Sam nodded before Carolyn turned to Jack. "I'll see you in a few days, General O'Neill?"

"Uh, I..."

"You'll see him in a few days," Sam interrupted.

"Excellent. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon," Carolyn said with a smile.

"We will," Sam assured as she followed her husband from the infirmary

-

"Thanks for watching Grace," Sam said, walking Vala to the front door.

"You're welcome, Samantha," she said, considerably less bubbly than usual.

"Hey," Sam said after a moment. "How are you doing?"

Vala inhaled, pausing at the door. "I'll be all right."

"You sure?"

She nodded.

"Have you talked to Daniel?"

Vala tensed.

"Listen, I don't want to butt in," Sam began, slowly.

"But?" Vala asked, looking up at her friend.

"But to be fair, you both have some...issues...in your lives. I mean, you and your dad. He lost his parents when he was young. His wife was taken as a host just a year or two after they got married. You were taken as a host yourself. He delivered his wife's harsesis son. You gave birth to the Orici..." Sam exhaled slowly. "Maybe you're both being a little too...cautious..."

"And an alien fertility festival was the only way we could resolve our differences?" Vala asked, swallowing tears.

"I don't know," she said, honestly. "But that's what happened."

Vala nodded slowly. "Well, thank you, Samantha. For trying to make me feel better at least."

"I wasn't thinking short term," Sam admitted. "Maybe a few years down the road, you'll thank me for this."

Vala scoffed silently. "Perhaps," she said, wryly. "Doubtful, but I suppose anything's possible."

Sam offered her a small hug. "Take care of yourself."

Vala hesitated for a moment before reciprocating. "I'll do my best."

Sam pulled away. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Vala nodded as she turned to leave. "Will do."

Sam sighed as she closed the door behind her friend.

"How's she doing?" Jack asked, a sandwich on a plate in his hand.

Sam shook her head. "Not well, but maybe I made some good observations that she'll keep in mind."

"Like the fact that she and Danny have been through pretty much the same stuff?"

"Yeah," she said, tensing as she approached him.

"And how that makes them perfect for each other?"

"That was implied." Sam chuckled softly. "I didn't think it would be a good idea to say anything right now."

Jack smiled softly as he offered her the plate. "Roast beef with honey mustard and pepper jack cheese. Just the way you like."

Sam leaned up and kissed him tenderly. "I love you, Jack," she murmured softly.

"That's what they all say when I bring them lunch," he teased.

She chuckled softly as she took the sandwich from him. "What are we going to do to relax?"

"I thought we'd take Grace and Doc for a walk in the park," he said as they sat at the island bar in the kitchen.

"That would be really nice." She admitted. She looked around the house. "Speaking of, where are they?"

"Oh, downstairs." He said, sipping at a glass of juice which he had on the counter. "Apparently, she's been reading some books on training dogs."

"Oh?" Sam asked with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah." He grinned. "She wants him to fetch and all that fun stuff."

Sam laughed softly. "She's your daughter, Jack."

"Yeah, well..." He mused with an obviously pleased smile.

Sam took a bite of her sandwich, pensively.

"You're thinking rather loudly, dear." Jack murmured from beside her as he ate his own sandwich.

"Hm?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Penny for your thoughts," he said, looking over.

She shook her head. "I was just...Grace is a bit of a miracle," she said with a small shrug.

"Yeah. I'm of the opinion that all kids are." He said, seriously.

"Well, I agree," she said, nodding. "But...getting Grace. That was miraculous. In all of its forms. I I mean, she's got your smile, though she's not biologically related to us...she loves dogs like you do, she's a ravenous reader, which to hear my dad tell it, isn't too far from how I was as a kid." She blushed. "Only I was reading my science book instead of novels..."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Jack teased, taking another sip of his juice.

"I just wish that I knew how a child who actually shared our genetic makeup would be." She said after a moment.

Jack studied her before returning to his juice. "You sound as though you've given up hope of ever having a baby."

She swallowed. "Without expensive and invasive procedures," she began. "I'm not sure it's possible anymore."

"So, we do the procedures." He said without hesitation.

"Jack..."

"What?"

"They're expensive, I'm not sure they'd work with my...unique physiology, and who says we wouldn't be just as disappointed as when we conceived naturally?"

"If you want to give up on it, then I'll support you." He said after a moment.

She bit her lip. "Sometimes...plan A doesn't always work out."

"Plan A being conceive and give birth in this instance?" He asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah."

"So, we go to Plan B."

"There is no Plan B."

"No Plan B?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We were lucky to get Grace in the first place." She said after a moment. "Maybe it's time to count our blessings and move on."

"If that's really what you want."

"I think it is." She said, slowly. She looked back at him. "We tried. For two years, we tried."

"Yes, we did." He said, pensively.

"But I've always prided myself on knowing when to quit."

He looked at her skeptically.

"Okay, maybe not," she corrected. "But...I'd also want to make sure that Grace doesn't feel second-rate. Like she's not enough for us."

He nodded slowly.

"Hey," she whispered, studying him carefully.

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Fine." He said, standing and taking his dishes to the sink.

"You sure? You're awfully quiet." She observed.

"It's not exactly the kind of topic where a joke would be even marginally appropriate," he said, leaning his backside against the sink as he faced her.

"Never stopped you before," she said, affectionately.

"Well, I don't feel much like joking right now." He said, honestly.

She raised her eyebrows.

He inhaled. "I'm going to get Grace and Doc. It's supposed to rain after five, so if we want some quality park time, we should go now."

Sam nodded slowly, recognizing that he needed some space. "Right. I guess I should finish this sandwich sooner rather than later," she smiled.

"You can take the food. Doesn't matter much to me."

"Well, Doc might not mind either," she chuckled softly. "He LOVES roast beef."

Jack cracked a small smile as he walked around the island counter and kissed the top of her head. "I'll be right back. I don't think it'll take too long for us to be ready."

"I'll be ready." She promised. "For the park too."

He nodded, recognizing her commitment to give him the space he needed, before he walked over to the nearby door which opened to the basement staircase. "Grace! Doc! Time to go to the park!"

"Just a minute, Daddy!" Grace called back. "I'm teaching Doc a trick!"

Jack and Sam exchanged small chuckles at their daughter's words.

"Of course she is," Jack murmured, affectionately.

"Daddy's little girl," Sam said, softly.

He smiled as they heard Grace's voice. "Daddy! Come see! I taught Doc a trick!"

"I'm coming, sweetheart." He said, turning his attention back to the stairs.

Sam tensed as he left. He was such a wonderful father, and it broke her heart to see so much tragedy in his paternal life. Charlie. The miscarriage. Their infertility since the miscarriage. It was taking its toll on him, even if he didn't want to admit it.

She sighed softly. She just hoped that he wouldn't ignore it until it created a rift between them that was impossible to repair.

The gears began turning in her mind as she thought of ways she could avoid such a disaster. She smiled softly. That bed and breakfast in Denver was sounding better and better to her.


	13. Getaway

"Here you go, Grace!" Jack called as he threw the Frisbee in her direction.

Doc barked, happily wagging his tail as he bounded after the Frisbee.

Sam laughed softly.

"What?" Jack asked, looking over to where she sat on the picnic table.

"I just love the fact that teaching Grace how to throw a Frisbee turned into a game of keep-away," she teased, affectionately.

"Oh, hush." He said, shaking his head. "Just because you don't want to play."

"I never said that." She protested good-naturedly.

"You didn't have to," he murmured, wryly, as he caught the Frisbee which Grace had just thrown.

She smiled as she stood. "I suppose not."

"Where you going?"

"I thought I'd show you how to really throw a Frisbee," she chuckled as she took the toy from his hand.

"Oh?"

She nodded. "I have a gift."

"You have more than one, my dear," Jack chortled.

"Just let Doc catch this one, okay?" Sam called to her daughter.

"Are you going to throw it, Mom?"

"Yep." She grinned as she prepared for the launch.

Sure enough, when it flew from her fingers, it had greater height and distance than her husband's.

"Wow, Mom!" Grace cried, watching the Frisbee sail overhead before Doc leapt up and caught it, having run fifty feet past his young owner to catch the toy.

"That's impressive," Jack whistled, looking over at his wife. "How'd you learn to do that?"

She offered him a secretive smile. "You don't really expect me to tell you, do you?"

"Uh, we're married. No secrets, remember?" He said, looking over at her.

"Bothers you, doesn't it?" She teased before turning back to Grace. "Let's go, Grace. The sky's getting gray, and I want to get home before it starts to rain."

"Okay, Mom," Grace said, quickly hurrying to her mother.

"It doesn't bother me, per se." Jack said, following her to where she packed up the small bag of dog toys they'd brought along to entertain Doc with. "Just...intrigues me..."

"Well, in that case," Sam said, turning around to face him. "It's simple physics. Simple trial and error under a variety of circumstances led me to make several observations which have helped me perfect my game. I mean, once you account for wind resistance and mentally calculate the distance to your intended target, the arch you need to achieve for the actual throw is obvious which means that as long as you follow the same parameters which you have just gone through in your mind, you should have a perfect throw every time."

"I love it when you talk science," he murmured as he leaned in to kiss her.

She returned the kiss as a smile grew on her lips. "I know," she giggled.

"No giggling, General," he whispered in her ear as he held her tightly.

"How do you plan on making me stop, General?" She teased with her eyes twinkling in amusement.

"I have my methods," he murmured as he kissed her soundly.

Doc barked, and Sam nearly pulled away before she heard Grace. "You'd better get used to it, Doc. They do that a lot."

Sam leaned her forehead against her husband's shoulder as they both chuckled softly to themselves.

Finally, Sam turned back to her daughter. "Come on, angel, let's go home."

"What are we going to do at home?" Grace asked, catching up with her mother as Jack reached for the bag of toys that Grace had packed for Doc.

"I thought maybe I'd do your hair and paint your nails before Teal'c comes over."

"Teal'c's coming?" Grace asked, excitedly.

"Yep. He's going to stay with you for the night while your dad and I are in Denver."

"Denver?" Grace and Jack asked in unison.

"I'm kidnapping you," Sam winked as she turned to her baffled husband.

"Again?" He teased.

She smiled softly at the fond memories she had of their weekend at that beautiful bed and breakfast.

"Can we have a girls' day out?" Grace asked, looking up at her mom.

"Probably tomorrow night." She said, nodding. "If you want, I can call Vala."

Grace bit her lip as she shook her head. "No, I just want it to be you and me."

Sam smiled softly. "All right then. Just you and me."

She grinned as she took her mother's hand into her own as they walked home.

-

Sam chuckled as Grace squirmed with Sam's application of the nail polish on her toenails. "I swear, you do this for the attention now," she teased.

"No," Grace giggled. "It really tickles."

The doorbell rang, and Sam turned back to look at the kitchen. "Jack! Someone's at the door!"

"I'm going, I'm going..." He murmured, walking over to the door.

Sam smiled softly before she returned to her task. "Stay still, Grace," she murmured, affectionately.

"T!" Jack cried as he opened the door.

"O'Neill."

"Teal'c!" Grace cried, jumping up from where she sat on the couch as Sam paused between nails.

"GRACE!" Sam called, shaking her head as she bounded toward the Jaffa.

"Greetings, Grace O'Neill," Teal'c said as the six-year-old hugged his legs.

"Hi, Teal'c," Sam said, standing from where she'd sat on the couch.

"General Carter," he greeted with a small nod.

"Please, Teal'c," she said, blushing lightly. "Here it's Samantha O'Neill."

"Samantha O'Neill," he corrected with a faint smile.

"Teal'c, come downstairs!" Grace cried, tugging on his hand. "I taught Doc a new trick!"

"I haven't finished with your toenails yet!" Sam said as her sight followed her daughter.

"That's okay, Mom. You can fix it when you and Dad get back."

"I don't think we're needed anymore," she stage-whispered to her husband.

"That's what you get when they can tie their own shoes and read their own directions," Jack returned with mixed expression.

Sam inhaled softly before looking at Teal'c. "Thanks for watching Grace."

"It is my pleasure." He said, seriously.

"Bedtime's at eight...other than that, it's your call."

"She will be fine." Teal'c assured.

"I know." Sam said with a small smile. "You have our numbers if there's an emergency."

He nodded.

She walked over and hugged him gently. "Thanks again."

"You are welcome, Samantha O'Neill." He said, returning the hug.

"Come on, T!" Grace cried from the top of the stairs.

"Wait a minute, Grace," Sam said, pulling away from Teal'c as she walked toward her daughter. "Do what Teal'c says, okay?"

"I know, I know." She said, rolling her eyes. "Go to bed on time, eat healthy snacks, and be good."

Sam smiled an affectionate smile before she hugged her daughter. "We'll be back tomorrow morning."

"I know, Mom." She said, simply.

Sam kissed her the top of her head. "I love you, angel."

"I love you too, Mom." Grace said, honestly. "I'll be okay."

"I know." Sam said, nodding as she turned back to Jack. "Well, I think I'm ready."

Jack nodded before walking over to his daughter. "Make sure your homework is finished before play with Teal'c or Doc, okay?"

"Okay, Dad."

"I love you, kid." He said, earnestly.

"I know." She said, looking up at him with a smile as she hugged him tightly. "I love you too."

"I guess we're gonna see you tomorrow."

Grace nodded. "Have fun."

Jack looked back at his wife before smiling. "I think that's one thing we'll manage to do."

Sam chuckled softly. "Come on, Jack. We should get going before they cancel our reservations."

"Milady calleth," Jack teased as he walked over to her.

Sam shook her head, affectionately. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Why, thank you!" He said, grabbing the suitcase which she'd packed for them.

"Hey, T," Grace whispered as they left the house.

"Yes, Grace O'Neill?" He asked, turning to her.

"You wanna see Doc's new trick?"

-

"Where are we going?" Jack asked from behind the wheel.

"That little bed and breakfast we stayed at a few years ago."

"I liked that place." Jack murmured.

"I know you did." She acknowledged. "And you liked the cake we got from Strings."

"Yeah." He said, nodding.

The warm, teasing facade had been put away almost the moment they'd gotten onto the freeway, and Sam could feel the saturation of the tension closing in on them.

"I, uh, brought that nightgown you like so much," she said, trying to break the ice.

"Cool."

"And I brought that CD you made for my birthday. I thought that might be nice. You know, for ambiance..."

"Yep."

She bit her lip as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. "Jack..."

"Hm?"

"I know you've got something on your mind, and I have a pretty fair idea of what it is, so...let's just talk about it."

"I'm fine," he sighed. "You've made your decision."

She winced. "I offered a suggestion, Jack. I didn't make a decision."

He bit the inside of his cheek as he let his eyes dart over to her before turning them back to the road.

"Come on, Jack."

"No, you don't want anymore kids. You made that rather clear."

"I didn't say that outright," she protested.

"Would you, please?" He asked, soberly. "The ambiguity, the wishy-washiness...it's getting exhausting."

She felt tears well up in her eyes. "That's not fair," she murmured.

"Sam, either you want a baby or you don't." He said, soberly. "That's all there is to it."

"No, Jack, it's more complicated than that." She explained, passionately. "I'd love to have a baby, but there's a time limit imposed on us by nature that is close to running out if it hasn't already."

"Adoption," he pressed.

"Was almost impossible last time as you so eloquently pointed out," she retorted.

"Offworld orphans still need homes," he reminded her.

She winced as she thought of Cassandra.

"We don't get too many of those anymore," she whispered.

"If you really still want a baby, why are you giving up?" He asked after a few moments.

"Because I'm not willing to get hurt anymore," she managed as a tear slipped down her cheeks. "And I refuse to watch you suffer any longer."

"I knew it wasn't what you really wanted," he murmured after a moment.

She wiped the errant tear from her face as she looked out the window. "Well, congratulations, Jack," she whispered softly. "You were right. Jump for joy."

Jack sighed. "Give it another few months, okay? Until we've been trying for two and a half years. Then, if we need to, we'll try some treatments."

"I can't do this anymore, Jack," she said, looking over. "I can't keep getting my hopes up every time my period is a few days late or I get a craving. I can't keep dreaming of having a baby in my arms that I finally get to meet."

He looked down at the steering wheel before he looked back up at the road. Sam could see the emotion lining his face.

"Jack?"

"I'm not sure I'm ready to give the dream up," he managed after a moment.

"I'm not saying that I should go back on birth control," she murmured, looking over at him. "But I am saying that I can't keep expecting something to happen. Keep thinking about having a baby. I probably will too, but..." She inhaled. "I need the freedom to believe that this was in some way my choice."

He nodded slowly as she laid the back of her head on the seat's headrest. If she could only go back and do it all again, she thought to herself.

The car bounced slightly as Jack came up over a small hill. The dizziness which overcame Sam caused her to groan silently. The effects of that alien perfume, the headache, nausea and dizziness, were still abating slowly.

She'd be glad when she could be rid of the effects permanently.


	14. Enemies

"Unscheduled offworld activation," came the urgent sound through the base intercom system. "Unscheduled offworld activation."

Sam looked up from her laptop before hurrying to the control room. "What's happening?" She asked, looking at the Gate through the glass and then down at the computer monitor.

"I'm not sure, ma'am," Walter said, looking at the computer himself. "We're not receiving any IDC."

She swallowed. "Are we receiving any messages? Radio, video, or text?"

"Not at the moment," he said, typing on his keyboard as he checked for anything out of the ordinary.

"Close the iris." She instructed.

"Yes, ma'am." He said, pressing his hand to the iris control.

Just then, a message appeared on the screen. Walter looked up at Sam. "It's Master Bra'tac."

She nodded. "Open the iris." She leaned forward to access the microphone. "Standby," she ordered the SFs who lined the Gate Room.

She hurried down to the Gate room as the iris unveiled the shimmering event horizon of the unstable wormhole. A lone bearded figure, clad in silver battle armor and a black cape, exited the wormhole and began to walk toward her.

"Master Bra'tac," she greeted with warm respect.

"General Carter," he said, bowing with equal veneration.

"It's good to see you." She said with a smile. "And I'm sure Teal'c will be happy to hear from you."

"I am afraid that my news is not joyful," he said, soberly.

Sam tensed. "What's going on?"

"I believe we have found a new foe in our galaxy."

She swallowed as she saw the urgency in his eyes. "Please, come with me."

He nodded as she turned to Walter. "I want SG-1 in the briefing room ASAP."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, nodding.

-

"With the destruction of the Jaffa on Dakara," Bra'tac began, "we began to look for a more suitable world to serve as the unifying capitol of our government." He looked over at Teal'c with a monocle of pride. "Recently, in commemoration of Teal'c's defiance against the false god Apophis, it was decided that Chulak shall be the new seat for our government."

Sam turned an impressed eye to her friend who merely nodded in humble recognition of the honor.

Bra'tac became considerably more sober as he touched his fist to his lips in deep thought.

"Bra'tac?" Daniel asked, looking over at the Jaffa.

Bra'tac looked over at the group. "When an older model of the ha'tak vessel used by the goa'uld approached, we were prepared to welcome our brothers to our new homeworld." He sighed heavily. "We sent emissaries with our greetings and goodwill." He closed his eyes for a moment as he inhaled. He looked back at Sam. "When our welcome party did not return and our visitors were still unheard from, we went to the landing site of the ha'tak." He exhaled slowly. "Our brethren had been ripped limb from limb as if in a fight with a pack of vicious animals."

He turned to Teal'c. "I have never before seen such carnage."

Sam swallowed. "What happened next?" She asked after taking a moment to clear her mind of the images conjured up by the thought of death and destruction.

"We apprehended the strangers, but they were too strong." He sighed. "They were able to return to their ship and leave Chulak. But not without leaving considerable fear in the hearts of my brothers and sisters."

"What were they?" Daniel asked, curiously. "Goa'uld?"

He shook his head. "I did not sense the presence of a symbiote in any of our attackers."

"But they came in a mothership." Daniel double-checked.

He nodded.

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything," Sam said, looking at Daniel. "I mean, since the system lords have fallen, there have been a lot of mother ships which were slowly captured by or sold to other people. For that matter, the goa'uld probably stole the technology from some other race older and smarter than they were."

"There is a Jaffa legend," Teal'c began.

Sam raised an eyebrow in interest.

"About what?" Daniel asked, looking back at Teal'c.

"A race of beings with whom the goa'uld were at war when the system lords first began their rule in this galaxy," Teal'c said, soberly.

Sam's brow furrowed. "What?"

"The Titans!" Daniel cried with sudden understanding.

"You've heard of them?" Bra'tac asked, surprised.

"Uh, yes...they were prominent figures in Greek mythology." He said, nodding. "Th-they were...the...the first gods, as it were, in their mythology. Our old friend, Cronus, was rumored to have imprisoned the Titans."

Sam tensed as Bra'tac nodded. "So it is in our legend."

"So, we're dealing with the "first gods"..." She said, soberly.

Daniel looked over at her. "Well...the first Greek gods."

She groaned internally. "Daniel, find out what you can about these Titans in Earth mythology." He nodded. "Teal'c, go with Bra'tac, and see what you can find out about the actual attack." She turned to Mitchell and Neill. "For now, I want you two to sit tight." She exhaled slowly. "I guess I get to call the President."

-

"Unscheduled offworld activation!"

Sam grimaced. Second time today, she thought to herself with a groan.

She stood before she hurried down the stairs into the control room. "What've we got?"

"SG-13's IDC, ma'am."

"Open the iris," Sam said, hurrying down to the Gate room as she made the order.

The team ran down the ramp, carrying an unconscious team member.

"Get a medical team down here!" Sam cried, looking up at Walter.

The Gate technician nodded as she turned around and looked at the team commander. "What the hell happened, Major?"

"We don't know," he admitted. "One minute, we were helping the locals rebuild their village, you know after the flood..."

Sam nodded.

"And the next minute, this ha'tak ship flew overhead."

Sam's eyes widened.

"It started firing on the city before it landed." The Major said, clearly out of breath. "They were these guys..."

The medical team arrived, and Sam put a hand on the Major's shoulder. "We'll debrief in an hour after you've all been cleared," she said with clear sympathy and understanding in her voice.

"Yes, ma'am." He said, nodding.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she watched them leave. This was getting out of hand.

-

"Ma'am, General O'Neill is on line one."

Sam nodded, gratefully. She was on her sixty-third straight hour awake, and she was starting to lose her focus. After SG-13's return, she'd had to field calls from the President and Joint Chiefs as well as handle more than a few unscheduled returns of teams who were running from this newfound enemy. To say that she was exhausted was an understatement.

"Carter," she greeted as she picked up the phone.

"You sound awful. Get any sleep last night?"

"No." She admitted. "Nor the night before."

"Sam..."

"I know," she interrupted, clearly not in the mood for any kind of lecture. "But you know how it is when you first encounter a new enemy."

"New enemy?" He asked, surprised.

She sighed. "Ask Daniel. Something about a race that dominated the galaxy before the goa'uld. Now, they're pretty pissed at the Jaffa and they seem to be trying to retake their dominion."

"Oh, good," Jack said, dryly. "For a minute there, I was concerned."

She managed a weary smile.

"But you really should sleep."

She nodded. "I know. I'm starting to get that nauseated feeling in my stomach from the sleep deprivation."

"And you used to subject yourself to this kind of torture." He teased, affectionately.

"I was younger then," she groaned.

He chuckled softly. "Well, I'll tell Grace that you'll do your best to come home when you can."

"Count on it. But it might be a few days. I'm waiting for some recon. I sent Teal'c with Bra'tac to interview the first known attack victims on Chulak. Then, I sent Neill and Mitchell with SG-9 to try and figure out what happened on the planet that SG-13 was on..."

"Eaten anything lately?"

She turned green at the prospect of food. "Yeah," she lied. "Sandwich."

"Liar."

"I told you, Jack." She said with a heavy sigh. "I'm feeling sick. A couple hours' sleep, and I'll be good as new."

"You get sick, and the base is in worse shape than it would be in if you got a good night's sleep. Here. At home with your husband and daughter." He said, soberly.

"I wish I could," she said, seriously. "I really do."

"I know." He assured. "Just...save the world, okay?"

"Do my best," she said, exhaling slowly.

"And get some sleep."

"I'll try." She promised.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

She hung up the phone before standing as Walter entered the room. "Ma'am, we've received an urgent message from the Tok'ra."

She nodded as she was hit with another paralyzing wave of dizziness. Her nausea overwhelmed her as she fell to her knees in front of the Chief Master Sergeant.

"General!" Walter cried, kneeling before her. "Get a med team!" He ordered, looking to the SFs who stood in the hallway.

In an involuntary motion, she released the contents of her stomach onto the Chief's lap before passing out.


	15. Agitatation

"Where is she?" Jack asked as he hurried into the Mountain.

"In the infirmary, Jack." Daniel soothed. "Dr. Lam's running some tests."

"What happened?" Jack asked, turning to his friend.

"She'd been up for at least two days and probably closer to three," Daniel sighed. "As far as I can tell, Dr. Lam thinks it's just exhaustion, some dehydration, and maybe a little anemia."

"Is that all?" Jack asked, dryly.

"The point, Jack," Daniel interrupted. "Is that she'll be okay."

Jack sighed. "I want to see her."

Daniel nodded as he led the way to the bed where Sam was lying. "I have to get back to my office," she murmured in frustration as nurses came by to check her IV and to take blood.

"And you used to be the good patient," Jack quipped, somewhat affectionately.

Sam turned to face her husband. "Compared to you, everyone's a good patient," she teased.

"Oh, thanks," he laughed as he sat down on the empty cot beside her bed.

"Jack, I have to get back to work," she insisted, sitting up. "There's still so much to do."

"After you threw up on Walter?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not sure he'll want you back on duty."

She opened her mouth before closing it in frustration. "I can't afford this. We're at war."

"Not yet." Jack reminded, seriously.

"I have a team that's missing. I have several on recon missions." She rambled. "I can't just..."

"Would you just stop it?" He asked, waving her concerns away. "You just threw up and passed out. Dr. Lam's worried about you, and so am I."

She sighed softly. "It's just my sleep deprivation."

"Then get some sleep."

"Can't sleep right now," she murmured, looking away as she touched her forehead.

"Why not?"

"Can't stop thinking."

"Take something. Ask for a sedative." He said, soberly. "You are in the infirmary."

She threw him a look.

"Sam, if you keep up this kind of intensity, you're going to get burned out before you even get a chance to bring the fight back to these guys." He said, seriously. "Trust me. I know from experience. You'll get them, but it will take some time."

She sighed softly as she stopped fighting. "I guess you're right."

"I know I am."

"It's just..."

"Disconcerting?"

She nodded.

"Believe me, I know." He said, taking her hand and gently stroking the back of it with his thumb. "But so is you being sick."

"Well, General," Carolyn Lam said, walking over to the cot with a clipboard in her hands. "Your tests and scans came back clean."

Sam managed a triumphant smile. "Told ya," she said, looking at her husband.

"Nothing?" Jack asked, looking over at the doctor.

"Nothing that I can see." She affirmed.

"Thank you." Sam said, getting up.

"Wait," Lam ordered, causing Sam to pause. "I want you to rest." She looked at Jack. "I want you to take her home, get as many fluids down her as you can, and make her take it easy."

"I'm fine," Sam protested.

"I've got an infirmary full of people who insisted that they were fine," she said as she raised an eyebrow. "The goal is to keep you from coming back in the near future."

"I'll keep my eye on her," Jack said, earnestly.

"In that case, and only in that case, I'll let you take her home." Carolyn said, seriously.

Sam let the back of her head hit the flimsy hospital pillow on her bed as she closed her eyes in frustration. "I'm right here," she groaned.

"Call me if she doesn't get well soon or if she's getting worse," Carolyn said, looking at Jack.

"Will do."

She left, and Sam turned to her husband. "I'm so glad you consulted me on my health."

"Don't be like that, Sam," Jack sighed. "You're sick. Just let us take care of you, okay?"

"I don't want to be taken care of!" She protested. "I need to get back to my office."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" He exclaimed, standing. "I'm getting your clothes, and we're going home. Where I would highly recommend you quit talking about getting back to your office lest you accidentally give our daughter the impression that you'd rather be here than with her." Jack said, soberly.

She opened her mouth before she closed it again. "Fine," she sighed softly. "Let's go home."

"Thank you." He said with a thin smile. "Now...I'm gonna go get your clothes, okay?"

"Okay," she murmured, unenthusiastically.

"And don't move until I get back."

"Yes, sir," she said, sarcastically.

-

"Okay, I'm going to get Grace from school, and then, we'll both be right back," Jack said, helping Sam into bed.

"I think I can handle being alone for a little while," she said, clearly irritated with the amount of hovering she'd had to endure since falling ill.

"I know," he soothed. "I just wanted you to know where I was going."

"Well, thank you." She said, settling in a little further.

He offered her a glass of water. "I think I'm going to pick up some of that juice you like on the way home."

"That would be nice, thanks." She said, taking a sip of water.

"You still mad at me for agreeing with Dr. Lam?" He asked after a moment.

She sighed. "I'm just...frustrated. I wish I was on the front line doing something about this whole thing instead of sitting on my butt at home, worrying about whether or not you're going to pick up my juice at the store."

"You're sick." He reminded.

"Jack, there have been times when I could stay up the same amount of hours, offworld, and with an imminent threat. I was at home, and..."

"Coordinating everyone else's threats." He interrupted. "It's not a job for the weak."

"Well, I guess I just fell into that category," she sighed.

"Never." He said, affectionately. "You just ran yourself too hard. That's all."

She was silent as she nodded slowly.

"You okay?" He asked after a moment.

"Tired," she murmured, leaning back against her pillows.

"Get some sleep," he said, patting her thigh gently. "I'll be back in a few minutes with Grace and your juice."

She nodded. "Be safe."

"I will be," he assured as he stood in the doorway. "You get better, okay?"

"Do my best," she said with a faint smile.

He winked at her before closing the bedroom door as she closed her eyes in an effort to get some much needed rest.

-

"O'Neill," Jack greeted as he followed an energetic Grace into the house and answered the urgent ringing of his cell phone.

"Jack," the voice on the other side of the conversation greeted as Grace ran to the stairs. "DOC!" She called, bounding down the stairs.

"President-Elect Marks," Jack greeted, inhaling sharply as he recognized the iconic voice on the other end of the conversation. "How are you?"

"Good, actually." The former senator said with a smile.

"You wanna talk to Sam? 'Cuz I think she's still asleep," he said, trying to balance having the phone in the crook of his neck as he put the juice in the fridge.

"Actually, it's you I want to talk to, Jack."

"Me?" He asked, surprised. "Why on Earth would you want to talk to me?"

"I'll explain when you come to DC."

"I'm not planning on going to DC," he said, seriously.

"I've taken the liberty to have my assistant prepare some travel plans for you. I'll have her email the itinerary."

"Itinerary?" Jack tried again. "I can't just up and go to DC...I mean, I have a job, and my wife is...and my daughter..."

"Bring Grace. Take her to see the sites. You can be gone from your job for a day, and Sam's running the Mountain. I only need five minutes."

"But..."

"I've got to go, Jack, but I'll talk to you later. In DC."

The phone clicked, and Jack sighed as he closed his phone. "I hate politicians..." He groaned as he finished with his task. He walked over to the basement door. "Grace! Why don't you take Doc out and let him play out in the backyard, hm?"

"Okay, Dad!" She called as he heard the screen door open up, allowing her access to the fenced yard.

He smiled softly as he walked back toward the master bedroom. He gently opened the door and peeked inside to see his wife sleeping peacefully as he heard the comforting sound of her relaxed breathing.

It was about time she got some much needed rest.

He closed the door again with a small sigh as he remembered his recent phone call. What the hell did Brandon Marks need from him that could only be discussed in DC?

-

"Mommy...Mommy..."

Sam groaned as she was slowly brought back to consciousness by her daughter's soft, but insistent whispers. "Grace?" She croaked without opening her eyes.

"It's me, Mommy."

Sam's eyelids slipped open. "Hi, angel," she murmured, sleepily. "How was school today?"

"Good. It was good."

"That's good," she said, rolling over so that she could see her daughter better.

"Are you okay, Mommy?"

"I'll be fine," she said, managing a small, but tired, smile.

"Glad to hear it," Jack said from the doorway. "Had me worried."

She smiled softly at the sight of her husband entering the room with a sleeve of saltine crackers and a glass of water. "Sorry. I'd been on-duty for who knows how long, and I was just so tired..."

"And sick." He said, sitting beside her on the bed as he set his "gifts" down on the nightstand.

"And sick." She admitted. "But feeling better now that I have my two favorite people here."

He smiled softly as he slipped his fingers into her hand, winning a smile from his wife before she turned her attention back to her daughter. "Come on, angel, tell me more about school."

"Well, we were playing dodge ball at recess, and Jake was throwing the ball, and he hit Sara in the head."

"Was she okay?"

"Yeah." Grace snickered. "But she got in trouble."

"In trouble? For what?" Sam asked, confused.

"She said a lot of bad words," Grace giggled, covering her mouth with her hands as if she was trying not to be so amused.

"Ah." Sam said with sudden understanding.

"Little Sara Carmichael? From your class?" Jack asked, looking over at her.

She nodded from behind her giggle.

"And she seemed so sweet and innocent."

"Not after she's been hit in the head during dodge ball, it seems," Sam chuckled, wryly.

Sam slowly sipped at her glass of water as Grace began to sober. "Mommy?"

"Yes, angel?" Sam asked, putting the glass back on the nightstand before looking back at her daughter.

"Do you love Daddy?"

Sam looked more than a little surprised at the question as she nodded. "Of course, I do, angel. I love your daddy very much."

She looked pensive for a moment before she looked down and studied her hands. When she looked back up, Sam was shocked to see tears welling up in the six-year-old's eyes. "Then you don't love me anymore?"

Sam's eyes widened in surprise at the statement. "Oh, angel, I will always love you. Nothing will ever change that!" She hugged Grace tightly before exchanging a bewildered look with her husband. "What makes you say something like that?"

"You're not going with Daddy and me on our trip."

"Trip?" Sam asked, eyes widening. "What trip? Your dad doesn't have a trip planned...and certainly not one where I'm..."

"Uh...Sam..." Jack coughed.

"Yes, we are," Grace interrupted, insistently. "Daddy's taking me back to where we used to live."

Sam inhaled sharply, looking over at her husband. "What?"

"Grace, go into the living room and read a book. I need to talk to your mom." Jack said, standing.

"Okay, Daddy," she sniffled as she climbed down off the bed. "Are you going to fight now?"

"I just need to talk to your mom, kiddo." He said, ushering her out the door.

She nodded, turning a tearful eye to her mother before leaving the room.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asked, looking at her husband.

"I'm not sure, but we need to talk."

"I got that feeling," she said, heatedly.

"Look, I got a call from..."

"Why didn't you tell me that you're going back to DC?" She demanded. "It's obvious that what she said was true. Why are you taking Grace to DC without telling me?"

"I'm getting there." He said, seriously. "Like I said, I got a call from..."

"You need to tell me these things the minute they happen, Jack. So I don't say something stupid."

"How was I supposed to know that she'd know?" He defended. "She bounded down the stairs before I could say "hello" to the guy!"

"Dammit, Jack," she said, getting out of bed. "You know about her dreams."

"Yes, but..."

"You can't just spring these kinds of things on me..."

"I tried, but..."

"Just send a text message for heaven's sake! It's not that hard!"

"I got the call while you were..."

"Why aren't you taking me?" She interrupted, clearly upset and worked up about the whole thing. "Why just Grace?"

"Well, I thought you were worried about the..." He began before she interrupted again.

"For that matter, why didn't you just tell me?"

"To be fair, I didn't get a chance to say anything before you and Grace..."

"Oh, now I'm not blocking your lines of communication!" She accused.

"Would you just SHUT UP for more than two seconds?!" He demanded, angrily.

She was silent as two tears slipped down her cheeks in her frustration.

"President-Elect Marks called, and he would let me say about as much as you are." He said, pointedly. "He had his assistant send me travel plans because he wants me to go out for a meeting."

"So, you were just going to take Grace and go, hm? Thinking I wouldn't notice that you were gone." She whispered as hot tears continued to slip down her cheeks.

"That's not what..."

"What about me, Jack?" She asked, softly. "Don't you think I'd like to go back to DC? I have friends there too, you know."

"Yes, but you have respon..."

"Who are you to lecture me about responsibility?" She spat. "I have worked very hard to get where I am today. As a result, I CAN take time off."

"Do you want to come?" He asked, seriously.

"I can't. Not right now."

"Then what the hell are we fighting about?" He asked, tugging on his hair in frustration.

"The principle of the thing." She explained, heatedly. "This is a marriage, Jack. You can't make unilateral decisions like you would when I was your second-in-command. I get a say in this too."

"I know!"

"You should tell me about these things. Trips to DC, Retirement..."

"Are we seriously fighting about that now?" He groaned, wearily.

"Yes, Jack, we are." She said, seriously. "You should have told me."

"I know. I was wrong, I get that." He said, looking over at her. "And I've apologized a hundred times! But it's not like I didn't mean to tell you..."

"Well, if good intentions is all it takes..."

"What do you want?" He pleaded, shaking his head. "What the hell do you want?"

"Oh, so that's it. Just appease the little woman?" Sam goaded. "Give her what she wants so she'll get off your back, and you can go back to doing whatever you damn well please?"

"I can't deal with you when you're hysterical like this..." He said, turning to leave.

"You're just skirting the issue, Jack." She accused.

"WHAT ISSUE?" He roared, returning. "Why don't I just promise never to retire again? And if by some miracle, I do retire again, I will be SURE to make sure I don't do it without your permission!"

"Don't patronize me!" She cried, affronted.

"Don't patron..." He began, incredulously. "I can't even get a word in edge-wise. How could I possibly patronize you?!"

"Are you suggesting I'm not listening?" She demanded, leaning forward with her hands on her hips.

"I'm doing a whole lot more than that!" He said, returning her fiery gaze. "I'm saying it outright."

"Well, I do listen! You just don't talk much!"

"How can I say anything when you can't just shut the hell up?!"

She was silent as she looked at him with a look of supreme hurt in her eyes. Tears were running down her cheeks swiftly, and she wiped at her cheeks with both hands as she opened the door to the master bedroom and walked toward the door.

"Sam..." He tried, regretting his harsh words instantly.

"I'll be at the base," she managed with a shaky voice, too upset to notice that the keys had been drawn almost magnetically to her hand as she passed the table in the entry.

He covered his face with his hand as the front door slammed closed and he heard Sam's car start.


	16. Gone

She'd left without putting her shoes back on, Sam realized as she got halfway down the street on which she lived.

Thank heavens she'd had the presence of mind to put a pair of "emergency shoes" in the back of her car in the event that she was somewhere in heels and ran into a problem that would be better performed in boots - or at the very least flats.

She sighed softly. She probably shouldn't go back to the base. Carolyn Lam could spy her and have a fit. She'd be back in the infirmary or at home without explanation.

She probably just needed to cool off a little, she thought to herself as she began driving through the suburban streets of Colorado Springs. After a few minutes, she'd be just fine, she reasoned with herself.

She swallowed. It wasn't that she was angry with Jack, necessarily. He'd been wonderful, and all that she could ever have asked for in a husband, but it was the fact that she felt her family slipping away from her as she supposedly protected them from the threat which remained at the doorstep of their world.

She bit her lip. Jack should have understood that instead of making subtle, yet pointed, references to her insecurities.

"We're going home. Where I would highly recommend you quit talking about getting back to your office lest you accidentally give our daughter the impression that you'd rather be here than with her."

Now at a stoplight, she closed her eyes for a moment. Was she really such a terrible mother?

Jack took a few minutes to calm down before he approached Grace's bedroom door. He knocked gently on the closed door. "Grace?" He called, gently, as he opened the door. "Honey, can I come in?"

There was no answer, and he looked around the room. There was no sight of the little girl.

She hadn't been in the living room, and she wasn't in her bedroom.

His heart began to race as he walked through the house. "Grace?" He called, urgently. She wasn't in the kitchen, she wasn't in the garage, she wasn't in the car, she wasn't in the basement...

The door to the backyard was half-open, and Jack couldn't see any trace of Doc either.

He reached for his cell phone, instantly dialing his wife's phone. "Pick up, pick up, pick up," he chanted, nervously.

"Wild Blue Yonder" could be heard from the upstairs, causing him to run up only to find the phone on Sam's nightstand in the master bedroom.

"Dammit!" He cried, slamming the phone on the table.

He raced out the back door. "GRACE!" He yelled, hoping that she was within earshot.

There was no response.

He felt the icy hand of panic wrap itself around his heart as he pulled the phone to his ear with a trembling hand. "Please be at the base," he prayed, desperately.

-

Sam walked slowly down the corridors of the SGC. She was tired of wandering; she wanted to go home, curl up in bed and catch up on her sleep. She hated fighting with her husband, but he was just so exasperating!

Unfortunately for her, all she'd accomplished by driving around Colorado Springs for the last hour and a half was to get herself confused and dizzy.  
Thank heavens for GPS.

"SAM!" Daniel cried, running toward her.

She turned. "What is it, Daniel?" She asked, tiredly.

He stopped just short of her, breathing heavily. "Jack's been trying to reach you for at least an hour now."

She rolled her eyes as she turned back around on her way to her base quarters. "I don't really want to hear about Jack right now..."

"No, no...he told me you had a fight, but..."

Sam paused, waiting for him to get to the point.

"Grace is missing."

Sam whirled around, faltering somewhat in dizziness. "What?" She asked, her eyes widening.

"He's looked everywhere he can think of, and she's gone." He said, seriously.

She inhaled as panic welled up in her chest. "We were yelling...she must have gotten scared..."

"I know," he said, gently. "I'm going to get you home, and we'll find her, okay?"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "If anything happens to her..." She whispered, her voice breaking.

"I know," Daniel said, seriously. "Now, let's get you ho..." He studied her, noticing worriedly that she'd begun to pale and looked somewhat ill.

"Sam? Sam, are you okay?"

She felt the blood drain from her face. The all-too familiar sensation of losing consciousness was beginning to grip her as her knees buckled. She struggled to hold onto something, to keep from falling, but she barely caught hold of Daniel's jacket in a death grip as she sunk to the floor, pulling him with her. She looked into his eyes. "Help..." She whispered as she finally lost consciousness.

-

Sam's eyes slipped open. She was in the infirmary again. She had an IV in one arm, and she sighed. It was never a good thing to find oneself in the infirmary with an IV.

"Jack..." She murmured softly.

There was no answer from anyone nearby, and Sam closed her eyes again.

"Mommy!"

A flash image of her nearly seven-year-old daughter darted in and out of her mind.

"Grace..." She whispered.

"Are you suggesting I'm not listening?...How can I say anything when you can't just shut the hell up?!"

She felt a single tear slip down her cheeks as the memory of the fight played in her mind.

"Grace is missing."

Sam's heart pounded with sudden recollection. Grace was missing, she remembered with a start. She pulled the blankets from her legs, and moved to stand, swaying in dizziness.

"General!" Carolyn cried, hurrying over to her side with a team of medics. "I need you to stay in bed."

"My daughter..." Sam murmured. "My daughter's missing."

"I know. And we're doing everything we can to find her." She soothed. "But right now, I need you to stay in bed. You collapsed from dehydration." The doctor's frustration was evident in a slight edge that sounded in her voice. "Again."

Sam's thoughts were not on the doctor's questions as she was put back in bed. She fought weakly, against the nurses. "Grace...I have to find Grace."

"General O'Neill is at your house," Carolyn said, gently. "He's working with the police to find your daughter. Colonel Reynolds also has SG-3 and SG-4 looking at the possibility of alien interference."

"I need Jack," she whispered, forlornly.

Carolyn sighed as she looked over at Daniel.

"Maybe...I can keep an eye on her?" He offered. "Keep her from overdoing it until they find Grace?"

Carolyn looked at Sam for a moment, noting the desperation and despondency in her eyes. She turned to Daniel, silently nodding her assent. "I want her sitting on the couch or in bed, though."

Daniel nodded. "Sure thing."

"And the minute Grace is safe, I want her back here for observation." Carolyn sighed. "This is the second time she's collapsed in only a few hours."

"I'll see what I can do," Daniel said, nodding.

-

The drive to the O'Neill house in the misting rain was silent, and Sam just looked out the window, vigilantly.

"I'm sure they're doing everything they can to find her," Daniel finally managed.

She didn't respond, only continued to search for her daughter within the confines of the car.

The house was surrounded by police cars, and Sam could see her husband standing on the lawn, his face drawn with worry.

She got out of the car the moment that Daniel had stopped, not bothering to notice whether or not she'd closed the door behind her as she began moving toward her husband. It was all a bit of a blur before she finally found herself in his arms. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I should have known you would tell me about the trip to DC."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that," he murmured, holding her tightly.

"Excuse me," the officers said, interrupting them somewhat hesitantly.

Sam pulled away from Jack, though she kept her arm around his waist in an effort to support herself, feeling the effects of her general faintness once again.

"Sam, this is Detective Groves." Jack introduced with a small sigh. "Detective, this is my wife, Samantha."

"Ma'am," the detective said, nodding in her direction.

"Do you have any leads on where she might be?" Sam asked, swallowing down a lump of tears.

"We were hoping you might," he said, honestly. "We're looking everywhere within a half mile radius so far with plans to continue outward if necessary. We've also sent out an Amber Alert in case someone sees her."

Sam closed her eyes as blood rushed to her head. Search parties. Amber alerts. Her little girl was missing, and she might never see her again.

"Sam?" Jack asked as she wavered faintly beside him.

"I'm fine," she murmured as she kept her eyes closed.

"Hey, Groves, I heard you needed my help," a familiar voice called as it approached, causing Sam to open her eyes almost instantly.

The new cop on the scene froze as he stared at his former fiance. "Sam..."

"Pete," Sam breathed, uncomfortably.

Jack just pressed a hand to his eyes as if trying to wake himself from a bad dream.

"I thought you were narcotics," she said, biting the inside of her cheeks.

"I was. Then, I was transferred to missing persons."

Sam tensed as she remembered why Pete had come to her home.

"We'll find her." He assured.

She managed a semi-grateful smile before turning to her husband. "I'm not feeling so well anymore," she murmured, leaning more heavily on him.

He nodded. "If you'll excuse us for a few minutes?"

The cops nodded as Jack helped his wife into the house with Daniel following closely after them.

"Who was that, Shanahan?" Groves asked, looking over at him.

"Uh...Samantha Carter," he murmured. "The reason I moved to Colorado Springs several years ago."

"You know, Shanahan, Hamilton can take over here if you need to be somewhere else," Groves said, studying his colleague.

Pete shook his head as he fiddled with the wedding ring on his left hand. "I've got a call to make, and then I'm all yours."

Groves nodded before turning his attentions back to the search.

-

"Daniel called me from the infirmary and told me you passed out again," Jack said with a small sigh as they walked into the house. "You sure you should be here?"

"She's my daughter too, Jack," she murmured. "I need to be here."

He nodded. "Just making sure."

He helped her into bed, gently. "Feeling a little better?"

"A little," she admitted with a faint and worried smile.

He sat on the bed beside her, looking at her for a moment.

"What?"

"What do you want me to do about Pete?" He asked, quietly.

"Nothing," she murmured, seriously.

"Nothing?" He asked with rising eyebrows.

"Jack, he's a good guy. A good cop," she said with a small sigh.

"I get that." He said, nodding. "But I'm not sure how I feel about your ex looking for our dau..."

"Pete's in a unique position," Sam interrupted. "He knows that there may be more than meets the eye here." She closed her eyes for a moment in her exhaustion as she settled herself against the pillows. "Let...Daniel handle him. They can coordinate with Reynolds at the Mountain."

"But..." Daniel began from where he stood just inside the room.

"As much as I would love to, Daniel," Sam said, looking over at him. "I can't get out of bed because if I did, I would probably pass out again."

"Eat anything recently?" Jack asked, looking at his wife.

"Not for hours," she admitted. "Which was fine at the time, but now food kinda sounds good again."

Jack turned his head back to Daniel.

"I'll get her something before I start talking to Pete." Daniel said, nodding.

Jack looked back at her. "I'm not sure how I feel about you being alone," he murmured, worriedly.

"I plan on calling Vala to see if she wouldn't mind coming and keeping me company while you join the search," she said with a sad smile.

Jack nodded slowly. "Okay."

Daniel slipped out of the bedroom as Sam reached for her husband's hand. "Jack?"

"Hm?"

"Bring her home," she asked with eyes brimming with tears.

"I will," he assured.

They both knew that they were pretending. She pretended like she couldn't see the fear in his eyes, and he pretended that he didn't feel the fear that was coursing through his mind and heart at the thought of never seeing their daughter again, but for now, it was all they could do before they found her again.


	17. Lost and Found

Grace wrapped her arms around herself, shivering, as she walked. She hadn't meant to go so far away when she heard her parents' yelling, just to the tree that she usually read under in good weather when she went outside to play, but Doc had run out of the house and into the small forest behind the house before she could stop him. Now, they were turned around in the density of the forest's vegetation.

"We're gonna get in so much trouble when we get back, Doc," she mumbled to the dog behind chattering teeth.

The golden retriever whined from beside her.

The number of branches were dwindling as she came to what she was sure was a clearing. "We must be heading in the right direction," she murmured, thoughtfully. "It got thicker the further we went into the forest. We must be close to home."

The ground beneath her feet had been slowly turning to mud, and now, her tennis shoes were soaked through. She'd be okay with getting grounded as long as it meant she could stay dry and warm in the house for the foreseeable future, she thought to herself.

Her foot slipped, and she steadied herself against her dog. "Whoa, that was slippery," she said, seriously.

The dog barked in agreement.

"Come on," she said, catching her balance again as she pressed forward, pushing branches away so that she could get through them.

Her foot slipped again in the mud as she approached an unseen ledge. "AGH!" She screamed as she slid down into the ravine.

-

"Did you hear that?" Pete asked, looking at his partner.

"Hear what?"

"Sounded like a scream. Coming from the forest."

"Let's check it out," he said, reaching for the radio. "Hey, Groves, it's Young. Shanahan thinks he heard a scream from the forest."

"Okay, check it out. Be careful," Groves returned over the radio. "Probably slippery with all this rain."

-

Jack looked over at the cop in charge of the search. "Someone get something?"

"Maybe," he admitted. "Shanahan and Young think they may have heard a scream come from the forest behind your house, and you did say your daughter likes to go there from time to time."

Jack felt his heart begin to pound as he nodded. "Yeah."

"Go inside and check on your wife," the cop said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "We'll let you know if we find her."

Jack swallowed. "I can help..."

"If we don't find anything with Shanahan's hunch, I'll let you join in on the search, okay? But for now, let us do our jobs."

Jack nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Besides, you said your wife was in the hospital for a few hours earlier, right?"

"E.R." Jack said as he nodded again.

"Might be nice to have you check in on her."

"I'll be back," he said, nodding.

He walked into the bedroom to find Sam writing and sketching something busily. He looked over at Vala. "What's she doing?"

Vala looked over as she shrugged. "I have no idea. She just told me to shut up when I tried ask her."

Jack sighed. "Sam, what are you doing?"

"I'm working on a theory," she murmured, not stopping for more than a few milliseconds.

"Theory?" Jack asked, surprised.

She looked up. "Modifying the Asgard scanners to scan for DNA sequences."

"Can you do that?" Vala asked, curiously, as she returned to her work.

"I think I can," she admitted. "All we need to do is find a way for it to scan a strand of Grace's hair from her hairbrush, and find the match. Within the right search parameters, we should narrow the field down considerably."

Jack spied the sandwich which Daniel had brought into her a couple of hours before sitting on the bed with only had one bite taken from it. "Uh, Sam..."

"Hm?" She asked, not looking up again.

"I thought you said you were hungry."'

She hesitated for a moment. "I guess I was wrong."

"Sam," he murmured, worriedly.

She looked up at him. "Please, Jack," she whispered. "I...I can't just do nothing.."

Jack swallowed as he nodded. "Just eat your sandwich too, okay?"'

She grimaced. "The mustard...just..."

"I'll make another without mustard," Vala said, reaching for the sandwich.

Jack offered her a grateful smile before sitting on the bed beside his wife. "Sam?"

"I have to get back to work, Jack," she said, still looking at the sheet of paper on her lap though her hand trembled for a moment.

"We don't have any Asgard scanners in the area right now," he said softly. "I called Landry. He said that even if she had one of those...radio transmitters like the SG personnel, there aren't any ships in the vicinity of Earth."

She paused for a moment as tears moistened her eyes. "I know," she whispered as her voice trembled with emotion.

"Apparently, Pete heard something. He went to check it out. It'll be a few minutes before we find out if it's her or not."

She bit her lip as she nodded quickly.

He could see the tears coming more strongly than before. "C'mere," he murmured, preparing to wrap his arms around her.

She leaned forward, clinging to him as she released the sobs that she'd kept at bay with her busy work.

He cradled the back of her head with his hand as he murmured soft words of comfort in her ear.

-

A dog's bark caught Pete's attention as he and Young carefully searched the forest. "O'Neill said Grace's dog, Doc, was missing too, right?"

"Yeah."

"Grace!" Pete cried as he pushed through the brush.

The dog's barks became louder and louder and camer more and more frequently as he and his partner came nearer. "Grace O'Neill, my name is Pete Shanahan. I'm a cop, and a friend of your mom's."

"Hey, Groves," Young said, using his radio. "I think we got something!"

"Grace?" Pete cried, finding the dog who was barking. He looked down on the ground where he saw two lines in the mud that went over the side.

"Hey, Young, I think I found something!"

He crouched down before reaching over to a tree so that he could get a closer look down into the ravine.

"YOUNG!" He cried, looking back at his partner. "I found her! Call an amublance!"

He looked back down in an effort to find a way to get her out of the ravine.

"Grace!" He called again, trying to elicit a response. He got none, and he turned back to his partner. "We need some help. It's at least ten feet down, and I think she's unconscious."

He moved down a few paces before sliding down into the ravine before he hurried over to where Grace lay. "Come on, Grace, wake up," he said, patting her cheeks gently, as he tried to determine the extent of her injuries. "Don't do this to your mom."

-

"Jack!" Daniel cried, running into the house.

Jack looked over at the door. "What?"

"They found her."

Jack looked at Sam, who instantly pulled herself out from under the covers. "I'm going with you." She said, slipping into her shoes.

He nodded as she stood, faltering slightly as the blood rushed to her head. He hurried over and wrapped his arm around her waist as she stabilized. "You gonna be okay?"

She nodded slowly. "Just getting my sea legs."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, Jack, let's make sure it's her." She murmured in determination as she took a step forward.

"Okay, okay," he said, continuing to physically support her as they walked. "Let's go."

-

They got there as the paramedics were putting Grace on a cot.

"Grace!" Sam cried, breaking free of her husband as she ran toward her daughter.

"Ma'am," Young said, stopping her. "She's all right. Just unconscious. They think it might be a concussion."

"I think she broke her arm too," Pete said as he emerged, muddy, from the side of the ravine.

Sam inhaled as she looked back at her unconscious daughter.

"But she'll be okay, right?" Jack asked, reaching them.

"Once we get her to a hospital," one of the paramedics said, looking over. "Yeah, she should be fine."

"Thank God," Sam whispered, reaching for her husband's hand somewhat unaware of her actions.

"Are you the parents?" The paramedic asked, looking at the O'Neills.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, we are."

"Well, we only have room in the ambulance for one of you," he said, apologetically.

"Go," Jack said, looking at his wife. "I'll take the car."

Sam nodded.

"We'll take Doc home," Daniel said from where he stood beside Vala.

"Thank you," Sam murmured, looking over at them.

Vala nodded, soberly. "You're welcome."

-

"Mom," Grace whispered, waking for a moment as the paramedics put her into the ambulance.

"I'm right here, angel," Sam said, reaching for her daughter's uninjured hand.

"I'm sorry, Mom," she murmured as she closed her eyes again.

"Oh, angel, it's okay," she managed through tear-filled eyes. "You're going to be all right."

"Here," one of the paramedics said, helping her up.

"Thank you." She said, gratefully, as she sat beside her daughter. She clasped Grace's left hand between her hands for a few moments before she gently reached over and brushed the errant hairs from her daughter's face. "You're going to be just fine, angel. Your dad said something about a party when you're feeling up to it. Said something about cake."

"Chocolate?" Grace managed.

"Knowing your dad?" Sam asked with a small smile. "You can expect no less."

Grace smiled faintly.

"Keep her talking," the paramedic said with a small smile of approval.

Sam nodded. "Hey, sounds like Doc was quite the hero today," she continued. "I hear that without his barks, they never would have..." She choked on her emotion.

"I'm okay, Mom," Grace murmured, turning her head toward her mother for a moment.

"I know." Sam whispered as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Are you going to get mad at Doc, Mom?"

"Why?" Sam asked, looking at her daughter in confusion.

"I ran after him when he ran into the forest." Grace mumbled. "We shouldn't have gone..."

"We'll deal with that after you get better," Sam murmured, gently caressing her daughter's face. "Right now, we're just glad you're all right."

"Hurts," she managed after a moment.

"What hurts, angel?" She asked, looking into her daughter's closed eyes.

"Head. Arm."

"We're going to take you to the hospital, and they'll fix you up good as new, okay?"

"Okay." Grace said, slipping back to sleep.

Sam looked up at the paramedic who nodded. "Let her sleep," he said after a moment. "We're almost there, and she's tired. We'll keep an eye on her until we get there, and then they'll handle it from there."

Sam nodded, earnestly. "Of course."

"Hey, she's okay," the paramedic said with a gentle smile. "She'll be okay."

Sam smiled softly as she looked down at her daughter. "Yeah. She will be," she whispered before leaning over and kissing her daughter's forehead.

-

"Can I have a drink of water, Mom?" Grace asked, looking at her mother.

"Sure thing, angel," Sam said, standing from where she'd been sitting on the bed with her daughter to get the styrofoam cup from the tray just to the side of Grace's cot.

"Well, kiddo, that was exciting," Jack said as he walked into the exam room with a small bouquet of flowers.

"Hi, Daddy." Grace said as she blushed lightly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Well, angel, you managed anyway," Sam said, gently helping Grace to sip from the straw.

"These are for you," Jack said, offering her the flowers as they finished with the drink.

"Thank you, Daddy." Grace said, accepting them with her unsplinted arm.

"What's the official diagnosis?" Jack asked, looking at his wife.

"Suspected concussion and a fractured arm," she said with a small sigh. "They said to keep an eye on her for a few days. If anything changes, we're supposed to bring her back."

Jack nodded. "Can do."

"I assured them that we've both had our share of concussions, so once we sign the papers, we can take her home."

"You may want to wait for a minute," Jack said as Daniel and Vala appeared at the door. "We heard you were here," Daniel said, poking his head in.

"Daniel," Grace said with a small smile.

"Hey there, kiddo." Daniel said, mirroring the smile as he walked in with a get-well soon balloon. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she said, shrugging.

"We're glad to hear it," Vala said, entering the room as well. She looked at Sam. "Muscles, Mitchell, and Neill are briefing on their missions, but they wanted me to send their love."

"Tell them thank you," Sam said, nodding gratefully.

"Of course."

"Mom said something about a party when I'm feeling better?" Grace asked, looking over at her dad.

"You better believe it," Jack said with a grin. "You know how I feel about parties."

She smiled widely.

"And cake." Daniel winked. "There'll be lots of cake."

"Hey!" Jack said, looking at his friend. "That's my line!"

"You didn't use it," Daniel said, shrugging.

Sam grinned widely at the familiar banter between the two.

"Mom?" Grace asked, looking at her mother.

"Yes, Grace?"

"Can we go home? I want to see Doc."

Sam nodded, looking over at her husband. "Yeah..."

"I'll get the doctor," Jack said, stepping out into the hallway.

"We should get going," Daniel said, one hand on the small of Vala's back and another on her arm, protectively.

Sam smiled, noticing their closeness with a keen eye, before she nodded. "Thanks for stopping by."

"We'll be back when you're up and around, kiddo," Daniel said, winking at Grace.

She smiled softly. "Bye."

He and Vala left, and Sam wrapped her arm around her daughter as she sat beside her at the head of the bed.

"Mom?"

"Yes, angel?"

Grace looked up at her mother with wide eyes. "Are you going to have another baby?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What makes you ask that?"

"I had a dream," she said, softly.

Sam inhaled. "Oh?"

Grace nodded. "When I was in the forest."

"Was it a baby brother or a baby sister?" Sam asked, ignoring the deep feelings being stirred by the conversation.

"Brother. He said his name was Jacob."

"That was your grandpa's name," Sam murmured, softly.

"Your dad, right?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"I wish I'd met him."

Sam smiled softly as she leaned her cheek against her daughter's head. "You would have liked him."

"Would he have liked me?" She asked, timidly.

Sam looked down at her daughter. "He would have loved you," she whispered, affectionately.

Grace smiled as she settled more firmly into her mother's embrace. "Mommy, I love you," she whispered softly.

"I love you too, Grace," Sam whispered, tenderly. "More than you know."

-

They walked out of the hospital room together, and Sam looked up from where she'd been carefully watching over her daughter to find her former fiance speaking with someone at the reception desk.

Sam looked back at her husband before she touched his arm. "I'll be right back."

Jack looked over to see Pete turning from where he'd stood watching their reunion. "Okay." He said, nodding.

She managed a small, uncomfortable smile before she walked over to the desk. "Pete," she greeted, gently.

He turned. "Uh...hi." He swallowed. "I, uh, just wanted to make sure Grace was okay."

"She's fine," Sam assured.

"Good. That's good to hear." He said, clearly as uncomfortable as she was.

"Thank you," she finally managed.

He shrugged. "Hey, the dog was practically a homing beacon to her location."

They lapsed into uncomfortable silence as Sam bit her lip, wondering what she should do.

"Glad to see you're happy." He said as he looked back at where Jack and Grace were talking in the ER. "She's a sweet kid."

"Yes," Sam said, nodding. "She is. We got lucky to have adopted her."

"Adopted?" Pete asked after a moment.

Sam swallowed. "We, uh..."

"No, don't, you don't need to..." He interrupted. "You don't need to explain."

She swallowed. "Thank you for saving her."

"You're welcome."

She looked back over her shoulder at her family, nervously. "I've, uh, I've got to go home now..."

He nodded in understanding as he offered her a small pot of flowers. "These are for Grace."

"Thanks. That was very thoughtful."

He shrugged as she took the small pot. "It was nice seeing you," he admitted after a few moments.

"You too." She said with a faint smile as she left and walked over to join her family. "Well, angel, you've got a fan." She said with a small smile. "These are for you."

"Is that the man who saved my life?"

Sam nodded. "Yep."

"He's a real-life hero," Grace said, thoughtfully.

Sam nodded again. "Yeah," she looked at her husband with a tender smile. "Just like your dad, Daniel, Teal'c, Cam, Vala..."

Jack recognized her attempt to ease the tension of her moment with her ex and managed a small smile. "Your mom," He added, looking over at her, tenderly.

She reached past their daughter, who stood between them, and gently touched his arm as they walked out to the car. "Let's go home."


	18. News

"You're up awfully early," Jack murmured from the kitchen as Sam walked into the house at six-thirty the next morning with a small plastic sac in hand.

"Uh..." She managed, uncomfortably. "I went to check on Grace."

"Yeah. At about five-thirty. And then you got in your car."

She bit her lip, nervously.

"What's going on?" He asked, seriously. "Something's been on your mind since we got home from the hospital last night."

She swallowed as she set the plastic bag on the counter. "Uh...Grace said something while you were trying to get her discharged that got me wondering..."

"Wondering about?" He asked, curiously.

She inhaled before she reached into the plastic bag and retrieved the object of her early morning store run.

Jack raised an eyebrow as he saw the pregnancy test.

"She said she had a...dream..." She said, limply. "Where she had a baby brother named Jacob..."

"Could be just a dream," Jack said, recognizing her desire not to get too excited before they knew anything.

She swallowed. "Yes, but with the nausea, dizziness, and faintness..." She murmured.

"Dr. Lam ran a full panel of blood tests just yesterday."

She tensed. "I know."

"You don't think she would have said something?"

"Well, it might be too early still. I mean, it was only a couple of weeks ago that the, uh...perfume thing...happened."

"So, what? We hold onto this for another week or two?"

She swallowed as she looekd down at the counter. "I just...want to try. I mean, it would explain a lot."

"Maybe," he admitted. "But..."

"If it's a negative, then I won't say another word." She promised.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to stop thinking about trying," he said, shrugging. "Doesn't matter much to me one way or the other."

She tensed. "Really?" She asked, uncomfortably.

He sighed softly. "I mean, it would be nice to have another kid, but...like you said, at this stage in the game, it's...a long shot without drugs and special treatments."

"And we're not exactly wealthy," she continued, nodding.

"Hey, take the test. What could it hurt?" He asked, shrugging.

She swallowed as she nodded slowly. "I...I don't want to do it alone," she admitted after a moment.

He bit the inside of his cheek before he nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

She inhaled as she followed him into the master bedroom/bathroom suite.

-

Sam sat on the edge of the bed, biting her thumbnail, nervously.

"You did this last time, you know," Jack murmured, looking over at her.

"I know."

"It won't change the outcome."

She looked at him, pausing in her nailbiting for a moment. "I know."

They were silent for a few moments though the ticking clock made each of them a little on edge.

The egg timer's final ring caused Sam to exchange a look with her husband before she walked over and picked up the test. "I'm..." She began softly.

"You're..." Jack prodded.

She sighed softly as she set the test down on the bathroom counter. "I'm not pregnant."

Jack was silent for a few moments, studying her closely. "You okay?"

"Fine," she murmured somewhat coldly. It was fairly apparent that she hadn't been able to keep from getting at least a little excited at the prospect of being pregnant.

"Sam," he said, taking a step toward her.

"I'm fine," she said, looking over. "I just...I think maybe I'm tired. Maybe I need to get a little more sleep."

"It is early, and Lam did put you on medical leave for a few days so you could get some rest."

"Some rest," she mumbled as she pushed past him and headed back to bed.

"Well, there was an emergency. It happens," he said, following her.

"I know."

"But the important thing is that you were here."

She froze for a moment before she turned to him. "You don't need to keep doing that," she said, softly.

"Doing what?" He asked, confused.

"Reminding me of what I'm giving up with my job. I'm fully aware of it, thank you."

"Uh...I'm sorry," he said, confused. "I didn't mean to make you feel..."

"Well, you did." She interrupted as hot tears welled up in her eyes. "I would much rather be here with you and Grace, but right now, there is an enemy out there that...that needs to be faced. It's no different than if I were to be shipped off to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq."

"Yes, Sam, it is," he said after a moment. "You're not in Afghanistan or Iraq. You're in Colorado Springs. And you're not an Air Force captain anymore, you're a Brigadier General."

"Which is why I should be more involved, not less," she said after a moment.

"Sam," he whispered as he approached her, gently touching the skin on her arm. "I don't think you're a bad mother. And I know you're not a bad officer."

She tried to blink away the tears that were coming more and more quickly.

"But I do think that you might take a little more time to spend with your family. That's all. You've always had a tendency to be more of a workaholic than me."

"Which changed drastically when you and I got married," she whispered.

"For a while," he nodded. "Yes."

She was quickly losing her composure, Jack could tell. "C'mere," he murmured as he wrapped his arms around her.

"We could have lost her last night," she whispered as she clung to him.

"I know."

"I don't know what I would have done if we had."

"Sh," he soothed as he held her tightly.

"I wanted another baby so badly," she whispered a moment later through silent sobs.

"I know," he said, softly. "Me too."

"I know I shouldn't think this, but it's...it's not fair that we've been trying and trying, and...Daniel and Vala aren't even sure they want theirs."

"It's okay," he whispered.

She pulled away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," he said, softly, as he helped her catch the errant tears. "You're hurting. That's what I'm here for."

She looked up at the light, blinking away the tears which were still coming, albeit more slowly than before. "I know that alien delegate thought they were bringing blessings when they gave me that perfume, but...it's just made everything so...fuzzy. I can't think straight - or at least not as clearly as I used to be able to, I can't keep more than one meal down per day. I can't stand too quickly or I feel faint and sometimes actually pass out. It's like everything bad about being pregnant without...without knowing that you get a baby at the end."

"Have you talked to Dr. Lam about it?"

"She keeps running tests, but nothing shows up," she sighed.

"Something will come up," he promised.

"What if it's really bad?" She asked after a moment. "What if it's some sort of alien parasite that now knows...everything about the base because of me? What if it knows everything about you and Grace?"

"Hey," he murmured, rubbing her arms gently. "If it's an alien parasite, we'll deal with it. Like we have before."

"I threatened to kill Cassie when I had Jolinar," she whispered.

"No." He said, shaking his head. "Jolinar threatened to kill Cassie. There's a difference."

"To a small child?" She asked, skeptically. "I don't think so."

"Besides, you were trying to protect her."

"Maybe." She admitted, doubtfully.

"Sam, we've done alien parasites. We've done alien diseases. We'll get through this." He assured.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she nodded, earnestly.

"Now. Go back to bed. I think we should let Grace stay home from school today given the concussion and the events of last night." He sighed softly. "I think we all could use a little quiet time."

Sam nodded in agreement.

He leaned in and kissed her gently before running his thumb gently over her cheek. "You know what's never going to change, even if you do end up with some alien disease that makes you turn purple and grow a third leg?"

She managed an amused smile through her tears as she looked into his eyes. "What?"

"I will love you with all of my heart until the day I die, Samantha Carter. And probably even longer."

She began to tear up again. "Me too," was all that she could manage through her tears as he pulled her close to him again, holding her tightly.

-

Having calmed Sam down enough to get her back to sleep, Jack walked into the kitchen. Doc wandered into the kitchen, and Jack leaned down to pet the dog that had saved his daughter's life. "Here," he murmured as he put some food into his bowl. "For the hero."

The golden retriever just ate his food like it was any other day, and Jack smiled softly. That was why he liked dogs. They were so honest, so humble. They did what needed to be done without any fanfare or parade.

He inhaled as he looked back at the kitchen. It would be time for breakfast soon. Grace would want something substantial yet light with her concussion. He knew from first-hand experience that she'd probably still be somewhat nauseated with the effects of her head injury which put the count of nauseated eaters in the O'Neill family up to two.

He sighed softly as he thought about the negative reading they'd gotten on the test. He knew Sam was just trying to cope with the test result as well as she could, but now that she'd admitted her suspicions to him, he was starting to wonder if the test hadn't been wrong. It all made sense - her almost irrational fear of being a good mother, her nausea, her faintness, her dizziness, her mood swings.

He sighed softly. But, on the other hand, he could be setting himself up for the same kind of heartbreak that she'd just experienced when faced with the test results.

His cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He picked up the phone. "O'Neill."

"Jack! It's Brandon Marks," the voice from yesterday greeted. "I heard about last night. How's Grace?"

"She's fine," Jack murmured as he put the coffee pot on. "She's got a concussion and a broken arm from her fall down the ravine, but she'll be fine."

"Great."

"Look, sir, I don't know what you want," Jack said as his brow furrowed. "But with Grace and Sam, I can't just pick up and go to DC right now."

"Yes, I heard about General Carter as well," Marks said with a small sigh. "How's she feeling?"

"A little better than yesterday, but still not too well overall." He admitted.

"Jack, I'd rather do this in person, but you're right. Your circumstances are a little...crazy right now."

"Uh...yeah." Jack said, still confused, as he filled the coffee pot with water.

"I want to nominate you to be my secretary of defense."

Jack froze. "Ex...cuse me?" He finally managed.

"I want you to be my secretary of defense," Marks repeated. "Your breadth of experience with the Air Force, your knowledge and shaping of the Stargate program would be a plus, and now that you're retired from active duty, I think you would be the perfect candidate."

"I'm married to the commander of the SGC!" He sputtered.

"I recognize that," Marks said with a sigh. "And that would probably be a bit of a problem, but to be fair, the public doesn't know about the SGC, and they can't tell you that you have a conflict of interest with a program that they don't know about."

"That's a very fine line," Jack protested.

"Talk to General Carter about it," he said, seriously.

"What are we supposed to do?" Jack asked, absolutely flabbergasted. "Live in two different parts of the country for who knows how many years before she or I step down from our positions?"

"I'm not going to speculate on how it will work, Jack," Marks said, calmly. "I only ask that you'll talk to Samantha about it."

He sighed. "Why me?"

"Because you're too good for retirement, Jack," he said, evenly. "Let me know what you decide."

He hung up before Jack could say another word.

Jack sighed as he hung up the phone. This was going to be a nightmare, he thought to himself.

-

The smell of oatmeal gently woke Sam from her sleep as she felt a small body climb onto the bed beside her. Her eyes fluttered open to find Grace sitting up beside her.

"Hi, Mom." Grace said with a grin as Jack served her a bowl of oatmeal that was topped with fresh berries.

"Hi, angel," Sam murmured as she sat up. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Mom." Grace said with a small smile. "How about you?"

Sam exhaled slowly. "I didn't hit my head falling down a ravine," she said, softly.

"No, but you were sick yesterday." Grace said, looking at her mother earnestly.

"I'll be fine," Sam said, rewrapping an elastic around her hair in a ponytail.

"You mean you'll be fine when you have some of my oatmeal," Jack said with a wink as he offered her another bowl.

"Smells great," she said, eagerly.

"I figured I'd go with something that was easy on the stomachs," he said with a small smile. "Since my girls are both a little under the weather."

"Jack..." Sam chuckled softly.

"What?" Jack asked, seriously. "Don't lie to me. You're not feeling well." He turned and looked at Grace. "And you, missy, I've had more than a few concussions before. You're not feeling too good right now either."

Grace shrugged with an innocent smile.

"I figured we'd all just stay home. I'd wait on you girls hand and foot, and then, we'd see about tomorrow."

Grace giggled softly as Sam rolled her eyes. "You just wanted to get away from your Academy cadets," she teased.

"You make that sound like it's a bad thing!"

She grinned in amusement as she shook her head. "I'm going to eat my oatmeal now," she chuckled as she picked up her spoon.

"A good idea," Jack said, nodding. "I'll get some for myself as well."

"It's very good," Grace said behind a mouth full of the oats.

Sam smiled as she looked over at her daughter.

Jack laughed heartily. "I love you, kid!" He stood. "Sit tight. I'll be right back."

"Yes, sir," Sam winked.

"Anyone want anything while I'm gone?" Jack asked, looking at his wife and then at his daughter. "Water, book, movie?"

"Movie!" Grace cried, excitedly.

"Which movie, kiddo?"

"Enchanted." Grace grinned.

Sam looked at her husband with an amused smile. "Actually, that sounds good."

His gaze narrowed playfully. "Just because you know how much I hate that movie..."

Sam tried to hide her amusement at her husband's expense. "What was that you said about waiting on us hand and foot?"

"I'm going, I'm going," he groused, playfully.

"A glass of water would be nice too," Sam called as he left the room.

"Yes, your Majesty!"

Sam looked over at her daughter who offered a conspiratorial giggle before taking another bite of her oatmeal.

Suddenly, they heard something crash. "No, no, no! DOC!" Jack cried as the golden retriever bounded into the master bedroom, jumped onto the bed, and pounced on Grace.

Sam tried to bite back a laugh as Jack practically fell through the doorway in his hurry to follow the dog as Grace giggled and Doc, with his tail wagging, licked her face.

"A little slow, General?" Sam couldn't help but tease.

"Easy for you to laugh," Jack said, standing. "You didn't twist your bad knee."

Sam looked over in worry. "Are you okay?" She asked, more earnestly.

"Yeah. I'll take two ibuprofen, get an ice pack, and join the rest of you "sickies"."

"Let me take a look at that," Sam murmured, slipping out of bed as Grace tried to get Doc off the bed so that she could clean up the oatmeal mess on her parents' sheets.

"It's fine," Jack grimaced.

Sam was already in front of him. "Jack, it's your bad knee. Even if you're not paying for it now, it's going to be bothering you. Let me get you some of those muscle relaxants that Dr. Lam prescribed.."

"Sam," Jack said, touching her arm. "It's fine. Just a little sore."

She swallowed. "Okay. But you sit on the bed. I'll get you the ibuprofen."

"You don't need to..."

"Please," she said tenderly. "I want to do it, and I'll be okay. I promise I'll get the movie, your ice pack, my drink of water, and the ibuprofen."

"I don't get a drink of water?" He teased as he tried to cover his pain.

"You can either share with me or I'll get you your own," she said with a small smile as she helped him get to his side of the bed which Doc had finally vacated.

"Just five minutes," Jack murmured from where he sat on the bed as she walked around the bed and toward the door. "It'll just take me five minutes to be better."

"You can have ten," she said with a teasing smile.

He shook his head with amusement as she slipped out the door.

-

Sam was gently stroking Grace's hair an hour later as the little girl lay with her cheek pressed against her chest and her arms wrapped around her waist.

"I think she's asleep," Jack said, looking over at them.

Sam smiled softly. "I think you're right."

He bit the inside of his cheek as he stopped the movie which was playing in the background and turned the TV off.

"Something on your mind?" Sam asked, looking over at him.

He sighed. "Yeah."

"What is it?" She asked, soberly.

"President-Elect Marks called today."

"Oh?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

He nodded. "He heard about what happened last night, and decided to tell me what he wanted to meet with me in DC about so that I wouldn't have to take the trip."

"That's thoughtful of him," she said, amicably.

"He wants to put my name in front of Congress as the secretary of Defense nomination."

She froze, pausing in stroking Grace's hair for a moment as she just stared at her husband. "What?" She asked, faintly.

"I know." He said with a small sigh.

"But..."

"I told him that I couldn't take the job. Not with your position..."

"You did," she said, starting to recover from the shock of the news.

"He didn't buy it."

"Well, the SGC isn't exactly on the books..."

"That's what he said," he said with a sigh.

"What are you going to do?" She asked after a moment.

"Well, for now, I figured I'd tell you. See what you thought about it."

"It's a great opportunity," she said, seriously.

"Yes, but it's actual politics...with the Pentagon, I could at least pretend that politics were just a...an annoyance."

"True," Sam mused, thoughtfully.

"But I could do a lot more for the Program...and military personnel everywhere, actually...if I took this position."

She nodded. "There is that."

"He actually said I was too good for retirement," he said after a moment.

"It's true," she said, softly.

"I don't know about that." He said, modestly.

"Well, I do." She said with a small smile. She inhaled softly. "I'll put in for retirement if you decide to do it."

He raised an eyebrow. "With a new enemy at the door?"

"It wouldn't be ideal, but it would give me time with Grace. I could teach maybe, and that would get back into the scientific community. And, if they needed me," she said, biting her lip. "They would know where to find me."

He nodded, pensively, as they lapsed into silence.

"I might not get it, you know."

She looked over. "It's true," she admitted.

"Do I have any right to ask you to retire on a chance?"

She looked down for a moment. "Jack," she murmured, looking back at him.

"Hm?"

"I would never resent retiring." She said, slowly. "Not at this stage in the game." She looked down at the daughter she held in her arms. "Not when our daughter is growing so quickly. Not when I've already missed so much."

"I love you," he said, looking over at her with wonder in his eyes.

"Good." She said with a tender smile. "Because I love you too."


	19. Under Attack

"There have been many more attacks reported by Jaffa on other worlds throughout this galaxy," Teal'c intoned at the briefing room. "And all with similar outcomes."

"Surprise visit from an older ha'tak vessel, greeting party slaughter, getaway..." Daniel expounded.

Sam tensed. "Is anyone else reporting attacks like this?"

"No." Teal'c said, soberly.

Sam's brow furrowed. "That's strange."

"Actually, it might not be," Daniel said, eagerly. "We've theorized that the Titans came before the goa'uld. Well, if that's right..."

"Then, they're pretty pissed at the Jaffa," John murmured.

"Exactly."

Sam inhaled. "But what are they gaining by just landing on planets, killing the greeting party, and running home?"

"Well, it could be their method of gaining intelligence," Daniel said, shrugging.

"Pretty crappy one, if you ask me," John said, looking over at Daniel.

"Yes, well..." Daniel said, turning back to Sam.

"It's probably just as much a scare tactic as it is a recon trip." Sam said, thoughtfully.

They all turned interested looks to her.

She shrugged. "By all accounts, it's only a handful of these Titans who are making the initial attack, right?"

Teal'c nodded. "Indeed."

"They've had thousands of years to rebuild, but they're probably not going to forget the strength of the Jaffa who fought for the goa'uld." Sam explained. "They probably want to intimidate as many of the Jaffa as they can with multiple small force surprise attacks before they bring in the cavalry."

"And while doing so, they can gather what defensive intelligence they can," Vala began. "And perhaps even leave a spy among the people."

"Warn the Jaffa that they may be looking at some internal sabotage," Sam said, turning to Teal'c.

He nodded.

"What about the rest of us?" John Neill asked, looking at her.

"You're going to go on missions. Just like you have been." She said, calmly. "You'll engage the enemy when necessary, and make peace when it's in our best advantage." She inhaled. "And you'll bring intelligence home in case we need to make a strategic strike." Her eyes were earnest as she sat forward in her chair. "We've fought more than three other wars since the Stargate was opened, and we've won all of them even when it seemed like we were at a disadvantage." She looked down at her hands for a moment before looking back at the team. "I'm not going to let a legacy like that go undefended."

They all nodded, soberly.

"Now, Teal'c, you'll leave for Chulak in an hour." She turned to the rest. "The upcoming mission log with your specific assignments will be delivered to you shortly. Dismissed."

She stood and walked toward her office as Daniel followed her. "Sam?"

She turned. "Yes, Daniel?"

"You seem different. You okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. A few days at home with my family was just what the doctor ordered."

"Yeah, speaking of...how's Grace?"

Sam smiled softly. "She's fine. Today was her first day back at school too."

"That's great. How's Jack?"

"Limping a little more than usual." Sam said with a shrug. "But he had a minor accident the other day where he fell and twisted his knee. He'll be fine in a day or two."

"Oh?" Daniel asked, curiously. "What happened?"

Sam had to bite her lip to keep from chuckling aloud. "He tried to catch the dog, but he slipped and fell instead."

"Oops." Daniel chuckled.

"What can I do for you, Daniel?" She asked, facing him more completely from behind her desk.

"Uh...nothing. Just...wanted to know how you were doing."

"We're fine."

"Yeah?" He asked, concerned. "You've had a helluva few days."

She inhaled. "I'll be okay."

"And you're really as...zen...as you seem to be about this whole new threat to the galaxy thing?"

She shrugged, modestly. "I...got a pep talk over the last few days."

"Yeah, you sounded a bit like Jack back there." Daniel smiled.

She chuckled softly. "How are you?"

He inhaled. "Ah, well..."

"You and Vala seem to have come to some sort of...understanding..."

"Yes, well...crisis seems to have a unifying effect on people. Makes them realize what's really important in life." He said, philosophically.

"Yes," she murmured, thoughtfully. "It does."

"Well, I should get back to my lab," Daniel said, pulling her from her thoughts. "Check that mission log."

Sam smiled softly. "You do that."

"You need anything, you call, okay?" Daniel said, seriously.

"I will." She assured.

He turned to leave, and she bit her lip, thinking about Jack's possible new assignment. "Daniel?" She called, causing him to turn around.

"Yeah?"

She shook her head. "Never mind."

"Okay," he said with a shrug of his shoulders as he left.

She sighed. It was going to be harder to leave the SGC than she'd first anticipated if Jack decided to accept the proposed nomination.

-

Sam walked down to the control room as the Stargate began spinning.

"Ma'am, we have an unscheduled gate activation," one of the Gate technicians said, looking over at her.

"Close the iris," she said, instantly. "Are we receiving anyone's IDC?"

She studied her screen for a moment. "Yes, it's SG-14."

"Open the iris," Sam said, nodding. "We sent them after SG-5 when they didn't report in."

The Gate tech nodded as Sam headed to the gate room.

Colonel Dan Bridger led his team down the ramp with a limp body on a stretcher behind him.

"Get a med team," Sam ordered, turning back to the control room.

"Colonel?" Sam asked, looking back at him, expectantly.

"Major Holloway didn't make it, ma'am," he said with a sigh.

Sam tensed. "What happened?"

"Dunno. Holloway was the only member of SG-5 we found, and he was dead by the time we got there."

"The locals? They didn't see anything?"

Bridger swallowed. "What locals, ma'am? The village was completely destroyed. Some kind of aerial assault, I would guess."

She inhaled sharply. "The whole village?"

He nodded.

The med team came to take the body from the other team members, and Sam bit her lip. "Debriefing in an hour," she said after a moment.

"Yes, ma'am."

"General, ma'am?" Walter announced from the control room.

She turned. "Yes, Walter?"

"You have a call on line one."

"Be right there," she said, walking up to her office.

It was only a few moments before she picked up the line in her office. "Carter," she greeted, professionally.

"Hi, Sam."

"Cassandra?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Is this okay? Me calling you on this number? I mean, I had something important I needed to tell you..."

"You're fine, Cass. What's up?" She asked, sitting down.

"Is it true that President Marks is considering Jack for his secretary of defense nomination?"

Sam froze in surprise. "What?"

She'd been so careful to keep that quiet until Jack was ready to answer one way or the other.

"I saw it on the news this morning. You didn't know?"

"I didn't know it would be on the news." She admitted.

"Then, it's true?"

Sam sighed. "Jack's trying to figure out what he wants to do," she admitted. "But...I don't know how the news heard anything about it."

"Oh." Cassandra said with deep understanding. "Sorry."

"No, don't apologize," Sam said, shaking her head. "We need to know what's being said about it."

"All they said was that he was a contender for the nomination."

Sam sighed. "Jack got the call not even a week ago. Someone's trying to put pressure on him to make the decision quickly, I guess."

"Well, that sucks," Cassandra said, simply.

"Yeah." Sam said, trying to think through how this would change their lives. And the outcome. "So, how are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Busy with school and wedding preparations."

"How are those going?" Sam asked, pushing the frustration of her husband's precarious position out of the forefront of her mind for the moment.

"The wedding preparations?"

"No, school." Sam teased.

"They're fine," Cassandra chuckled. "We've found a date, a church, and a reception hall. Now all we need is a dress, a cake, flowers, and everything else."

"Let me know if you need any help." Sam said, earnestly.

"Says the busiest woman on the face of the planet," Cassandra laughed. "I'm fine."

"Cass, I want to help."

"Well, there is something I was hoping you could help me do..." She said after a moment.

"Anything."

"Help me find a dress?" Cassie asked, hopefully.

"Sure. I'll find a few weekends where I can come out and help look."

"And if you want to bring Jack and Grace, Cameron would be happy to keep them occupied while we actually shop."

Sam smiled. "I'm sure they'd love that."

"Great. I'll look forward to your email then."

"Sounds good." Sam said with a grin. "Hey, Cass?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the warning about the news..."

"You're welcome."

"All right, kiddo, I love you."

"Love you too, Sam."

Sam hung up the phone before standing. "Walter?"

"Yes, ma'am?" He asked, poking his head in the door to her office.

"Get my husband on the phone, please? It's urgent."

"Yes, ma'am."

The intercom beeped a few moments later. "General, ma'am?"

"Yes, Walter?"

"I have General O'Neill on line one for you."

"Patch him through," she said, reaching for the receiver.

"Sam," Jack greeted, soberly.

"Jack." She said, equally seriously.

"What's up?"

"I got a call from Cassandra. She said she heard you were being considered for the secretary of defense position."

He groaned. "I know. I've been stuck in my office all day because everywhere I go, someone asks me if I'm going to say yes."

"I swear it wasn't me," she said instantly. "I didn't say a word. Not even to Daniel and Teal'c."

"No, I trust you," he sighed. "I think it was Marks."

"I was hoping I was being paranoid when I thought that same thing," she murmured, dryly.

"I wish."

"Are you swarmed with reporters?" She asked, worriedly.

"Nah. I've stayed on base since I heard. But home's going to be ridiculous." He sighed. "I was actually about to call you and ask if you wanted me to pick you up so I could help you get from the car to the door in one piece."

"That's okay. I'll just leave my car here and have a driver take me home." She said, shaking her head. "They can help me battle through to the front door if need be."

"Okay," he said with a small sigh. "Well, I think I'm going to leave to get Grace a little bit early. I don't want her getting ambushed."

"Of course. I've got some more work I need to get done here, but when I'm finished, I'll be right home."

"Well, be safe."

"I will be." She said, seriously. "Jack?"

"Hm?"

'Have you given anymore thought to what you want to do?"

He exhaled slowly. "If this turns into a media circus, I'm going to say no, but..."

"If it doesn't adversely affect our family?" She finished.

He sighed. "I don't know, Sam. It's a lot of hours, a lot of traveling, and we still have such a young Grace..."

"Might be good for her to see the world," Sam said, softly. "And I've followed you to more places than this Earth could offer..."

She heard his soft chuckle on the other end of the conversation. "I just don't know right now, Sam." He said, more soberly after a few moments.

"All right," she said, softly. "I guess we'll talk about it when I get home."

"Sounds like a good idea," he admitted.

"Love you." She said, trying to elicit a smile from him.

"I love you too." He said, more warmly.

-

"General, ma'am?" A voice asked, gently shaking her.

"Huh?" She asked, opening her eyes. She raised herself from the desk, somewhat disoriented.

"With respect, ma'am," Reynolds said from where he stood above her. "Maybe you should go home and get some sleep."

She nodded slowly as she blinked. "Yes, Colonel, I think I should." She swallowed. "How long have you been on duty, Reynolds?"

"I just got here, ma'am."

"I'll relieve you at 0800." She said, standing.

"Yes, ma'am." He said, nodding.

She groaned. "I can't believe I fell asleep..."

"All due respect, ma'am, you've had a lot on your plate lately." He said in understanding.

She managed a grateful smile as she moved to slip out of her office. "Thank you, Reynolds."

She rounded the corner to where Walter sat at his desk. "Walter? Can you call a car and driver for me? I have a feeling I'm going to be met by some guests when I get home."

He nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

-

The lawn, which only a few days before had been crawling with police officers, was now filled with camped out reporters. Sam sighed as she approached the house.

"Would you like me to escort you, ma'am?" The airman driving the car asked, looking at her reflection in the rearview mirror.

"Please," she said with a grateful smile.

He parked the car in the driveway and slipped out of the house before running to her side of the car in an effort to shield her from the many reporters who had thronged around the car in an effort to get an impromptu interview.

"Has General O'Neill made a decision about whether or not he's going to accept the nomination?" One of the reporters asked as the airman helped her to push through the mob.

"Your husband is a retired three-star general who worked at the Pentagon, yet we've seen no record of his involvement in the recent US war against Iraq and Afghanistan. What did he do at the Pentagon exactly, and why is he qualified to be the secretary of defense?"

"No comment!" Jack announced from the door as Sam reached the porch.

He protected her as the airman slipped back into the crowd, able to get back more easily as the photographers were distracted with the potential for a photograph of the retired Air Force Lieutenant General.

Jack closed the door behind his wife as they finally broke free. "That was awful," she admitted, breathlessly.

"Yeah. Imagine how much worse it is during daylight hours," he groaned.

"What the hell was Marks thinking?" She asked, agitated.

"I don't know," he sighed as he walked into the kitchen and retrieved a beer.

"If they follow me to work..." She said, closing her eyes at the thought of the nightmare which would be unleashed if any of the reporters were refused entrance to the top-secret levels of Cheyenne Mountain.

"Oh, I'm WAY ahead of you there!" He cried, from the refrigerator. "I called Landry to warn him about the possible questions." He looked over at her as he waved the beer bottle at her. "You want one?"

She shook her head. "I need a clear head."

He nodded as he opened the bottle and then flicked the bottle cap across the room. He won a glare from his wife. "What?"

"Was that really necessary?" She asked, bending down to get it.

"I was going to pick it up," he protested.

She waved the protest away as she walked over to get a drink of water. "How was Grace about the whole thing?"

"She hasn't had to deal with it yet."

She turned to him in confusion. "But I thought you said..."

"I called Mrs. Carmichael and asked if she could watch Grace for a few days. I guess she'd seen the news because she said that would be fine and that she'd have Grace call before bedtime."

"Well, she and Sara are best friends. Somehow, I don't think she'll hold it against us," Sam chuckled, wryly.

Jack laughed softly. "Yeah."

They sat beside one another at the island bar in the kitchen and sighed in unison.

"How are you feeling about the nomination?" Sam asked, looking over at her husband.

"Right now, I'm feeling like I'm being played. But I don't know the whole hand..."

"Do you think Marks is using the reporters to leak the existence of the Stargate Program so that he won't be condemned in the public eye?" She asked, looking over at him.

He exhaled slowly as he sipped at his beer. "I don't know what to think," he admitted. "But Marks is too sharp to do anything unintentionally."

She swallowed as she sipped at her water. "Damn."

"My thoughts exactly," he said with a sigh of resignation.

"What a time to tell you what I have to tell you..."

"What is that?" He asked, looking at her earnestly.

She inhaled. "Cassie wants me to come out to DC and go dress shopping with her. I figured I could give up my next couple of weekends and spend them out there instead of here. You and Grace could come with if you wanted..."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere. I don't want Cassie getting distracted by these reporters," he said, shaking his head. "But I think you should go. And I think you should take Grace."

"Are you sure?" She asked, eyeing him closely.

He nodded. "The reporters are after me. Not you."

"We hope." Sam said, pensively.

"They go after you, and the deal's off." He said, seriously. "I don't care how much good I could do in Washington."

She managed a small, grateful smile, and leaned over. She wrapped her arms around his left arm before she rested her chin on his shoulder. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know." He said with a faint smile. "But it's nice to hear after a long day like this."

"Well, I do." She said, gently brushing away the hair from his temple before she kissed his cheek and resumed her earlier position.

"I love you too," he said, softly.

"We'll get through this. Even if it gets worse." She said, soberly.

"Hey, we've stemmed off more than one breach of national security," he said with mock enthusiasm.

"Exactly," she chuckled. "I think we can get through this."

"I hope so," he murmured quietly as he took another swig from his beer bottle, thinking about the decision he had to make.


	20. Developments

"...confirmed rumors that he has asked retired Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill to serve on the Presidential Cabinet as Secretary of Defense. Little is known about the illustrious General, who won the Air medal approximately thirteen years ago for his supposed work in deep-space radar telemetry..." The radio blared as it woke the subject of the newscast and his wife.

"Turn it off," Jack groaned as he buried his head beneath his pillow in an effort to eradicate thoughts of his potential appointment to the President's cabinet.

Sam sighed as she rolled over and turned the radio off. "We're not going to be able to ignore it forever," she murmured, looking back at him.

"We can try, can't we?" he muttered stubbornly.

She chuckled softly as she poked her head beneath the pillow and kissed him gently. "If you didn't try, you wouldn't be the man I married," she teased.

"Ha ha." He grumbled as he rolled over in an attempt to continue to ignore the morning's call to alertness.

"Jack, if you want this over, just tell Marks that you don't want to do the job," she said, sitting up in bed.

He sighed. "I wish it was that easy."

"You're right," she groaned, resting the back of her head against the headboard as she felt her usual morning dizzy spell coming on. "That would just raise more questions for those damn reporters outside."

"Exactly." He said, looking up at her for a moment. "You okay?"

"Fine," she said with her eyes closed.

"You don't look fine."

She turned a pointed look to him. "Thank you. That made me feel so much better."

"What's goin' on?"

"Dizzy."

"Maybe it's a blood sugar thing," he said, rolling out of bed. "I'll get you some toast."

"You don't have to do that," she murmured, sitting up again.

"No trouble. You've got a few minutes before you have to really start getting ready for work anyway, so I'll just get you some toast, and be back in a flash."

She managed a small smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." He said, winking as he went out to the kitchen.

She had to chuckle softly as she heard his signature "Oh, for cryin' out loud!"

The instant sound of shades hitting the windowsills made her wonder what reporter had attempted to get a picture of her husband dressed in his usual evening wear of boxers and a tank top.

-

"What exactly do you think we should do with Grace?" Sam asked as she pulled out her dress uniform.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked poking his head out from where he was brushing his teeth in the master bathroom.

"Well, clearly staying at Sara Carmichael's house isn't going to be the final answer to this thing," she said, setting the uniform on the bed as she prepared to slip out of her robe and into the clothes. "And I'm not sure I want Grace to have to deal with the reporters at all."

"But disrupting her routine would be just as hazardous," Jack finished.

"Exactly." She said, nodding as she slipped into her skirt.

He spit into the sink before he sighed and looked back at her. "I have no idea."

Her brow furrowed as she tried to button the skirt. The recent stress must have led to some weight gain because she wasn't able to zip her skirt up. She inhaled before trying to zip it again. There was no change.

"Dammit," she breathed softly.

"What?" Jack asked, walking out of the bathroom as he wiped his hands on a towel.

"Skirt's too small," she said, slipping out of it again. "I guess I'm just going to have to take a page out of your book and wear BDUs today while I wait for my other skirt to get back from the cleaners."

His brow furrowed. "That's weird."

She shrugged. "I might have put on some weight with all the stress I've been under lately, or the skirt could have shrunk. I haven't worn it lately, and it was the smaller of the two anyway."

"Yeah. Maybe." He said, doubtfully.

"I'm not pregnant," she said, looking back at him. "Carolyn Lam ran another panel of tests the other day, thinking I might have something like hypoglycemia or something with my dizzy spells and wacky digestive system."

"I didn't say anything," he said, raising his hands in surrender.

She sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"You've got a lot on your plate," he said with understanding and tenderness in his voice.

"You can say that again," she murmured, reaching into her closet and pulling out jeans and a blouse.

"You've got a lot on your plate," he said with a teasing smile as she slipped the jeans on.

She raised an eyebrow though she couldn't help but smile at his use of humor to lighten the mood. "I love you," she laughed softly as she quickly fastened the button on her jeans.

"Thank you, thank you," he winked. "I'll be here all week."

She grinned in amusement as she slipped the green scoop neck shirt over her head before reaching for socks and shoes. "You know, it's a wonder that Marks didn't nominate you to be the court jester," she teased.

"Oh, thanks!" He retorted with mock indignation.

"What?" She asked, looking back at him as she put on her socks. "You'd be great for the country's morale!"

"Maybe I should be grateful we don't have a court that needs a jester," he laughed softly.

She giggled softly as she stood again, this time looking for her watch as she slipped her feet into her shoes. "You'd think that with my alphabetized bookshelves I'd be able to keep an eye on where my watch is..."

A flash of silver caught Jack's eye as the watch flew past his ear. "Uh...Sam?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as she caught the flying object.

She swallowed as she stared at the object in her hand.

"Maybe you shouldn't do...that...around the reporters..." He said, soberly.

She managed a sick smile as she felt nausea well up within her again. What the hell was going on?

-

"Well, the EEG didn't show any abnormal brain activity," Carolyn said, walking over to where Sam sat and Jack stood.

"Well that should be a red flag right there," Jack said, lightly. "I mean, we are talking about Carter here."

Sam managed an appreciative smile despite her growing fears.

"There was some...strange magnetic interference with the MRI, but that could be explained by any number of things."

Sam sobered. "So...what's going on?"

"I don't know," Carolyn admitted more soberly herself. "You said this has only happened once?"

"That I know of," Sam nodded.

"You don't think you'd notice?" Jack asked, skeptically.

"Well, to be honest, Jack, I haven't been too observant lately. I've had too much on my mind," she admitted.

He nodded. "Yeah. I guess that's true."

"There have been a few times that I've looked down to find something in my hands that I thought was going to take longer to get, but...that could just be my recent confusion..."

Carolyn nodded, pensively. "And there hasn't been anything else strange going on?"

"You mean, besides the fact that I've had nausea, dizziness, fainting, and vomiting pretty much 24-hours a day since I was affected by an alien perfume which made me go cavewoman on my husband?" Sam asked, wryly. "No."

"Your skirt didn't fit this morning," Jack said, seriously.

"Yes, but I already explained that one, Jack," she said, cringing slightly.

"Your skirt didn't fit?" Carolyn asked, confused.

"I think with all of the stress, I've put on some weight. That's all." She said, shaking her head. "I'll get back to a regular routine in the gym, and I'll be back to normal."

"Lie back," Carolyn said, setting the clipboard down.

Sam sighed as she did so. "I swear. There's nothing strange about putting on a few pounds with everything going on."

"When you're vomiting and have a smaller appetite than usual," Carolyn said, skeptically. "I have the right to double-check."

Sam sighed as the physician gently pressed against her stomach.

"Ooh..." Sam grimaced after a few moments as the nausea began bubbling within her again with each press of the doctor's fingers against her stomach.

"General, I want to run an ultrasound," Carolyn said, worriedly.

Jack's eyebrows raised instantly. "Because..."

"There's something in there," Carolyn said, trying not to look worried. "And...I want to know what it is."

Sam looked up at her husband, worriedly. "Any theories?" Sam asked, looking back at the doctor.

"Well, given the fact that you haven't had a positive pregnancy test since you got here..." Carolyn said, soberly.

"You think it's a mass..." Sam said, paling.

"I want to rule everything out," Carolyn said, gently.

Sam nodded slowly, as she absorbed the thought. She'd been exposed to a great deal of radiation over her time here at the SGC. It wasn't too far-fetched to think that, having survived her combat years, she'd find her death in succumbing to some sort of cancer. She managed a faltering smile as Carolyn left. "Well...that would explain not being able to get pregnant again..." She said after a moment.

He reached for her hand, silently squeezing it in his support as they waited for the nurse to arrive with the machine.

-

"Hey, Sam?" Daniel asked, hurrying into the infirmary. "Mitchell wants to know..."

He paused as he saw his friends clutching one another's hands in worry. "Uh...what's goin' on?"

"It's okay, Daniel," Sam said with a shaking voice. "What does Mitchell want to know?"

"Well, he's taken over for Reynolds like you asked, and he's got a big reporter problem, but I guess he can handle it..."

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah. Have him send the public relations officer head over and talk to them."

"Sure thing." Daniel said, staying put.

"Something else we can help you with?" Jack asked, looking over at his friend with red eyes.

"What's going on?" He asked after a moment.

"We think we may have found the reason for my...symptoms lately..." Sam said, limply.

"Oh?" He asked, surprised. He studied his friends. "It's not good news, is it?"

"We're not sure," Jack said with a sigh. "We're still waiting for one test."

"But it doesn't look good," Sam admitted, soberly.

"Oh..." Daniel murmured, thoughtfully.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Sam looked over at him. "Go tell Mitchell what I told you. We'll stop by your office after we know more about what's going on with me."

Daniel nodded, numbly. "Yeah. Sure. Uh...good luck."

"We'll need it," Sam murmured before inhaling deeply as her friend left. She looked over at her husband. "I've been thinking a lot about Nirrti," she said after a moment.

"Yeah? What about her?" Jack asked, almost mechanically.

"Well, if this is...what this is..." She said, uncomfortably. "Well...I wouldn't be the only team member who got in that device and came out with some...abnormal abilities and a strange growth."

"Yeah, but Jonas's tumor was in his brain. That made sense with the psychic abilities..."

Sam exhaled. "And...Cassandra...she didn't have a tumor, but her body's natural electomagnetic field was chan..."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, we don't even know what it is yet, Sam!" He exploded.

She fell silent as he calmed. "I don't want to talk about you dying if it's not imminent, and even then, I won't give up hope of saving you until there's no chance in hell that you're still alive."

She inhaled and exhaled softly as she squeezed his hand gently. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that then."

"Generals," Carolyn greeted as she wheeled an ultrasound cart into the room. "I'm sorry about leaving you for so long. I had a crisis I needed to attend to."

"It's okay," Sam managed with a preoccupied smile. "We understand..."

Carolyn offered a comforting smile. "We're just trying to figure out what's going on," she said, gently.

Sam nodded. "We understand.

The physician gently pushed Sam's shirt up in an effort to get full access to her stomach area. "This might be a little cold," the doctor apologized as she gently squirted the ultrasound gel onto Sam's bare skin.

Sam grimaced slightly as she laid back on the examination table in an effort to give Carolyn the best reading as she ran the ultrasound wand over Sam's stomach to smooth the gel before she began staring at the screen.

"This can't be right," the doctor murmured as her eyes widened in surprise.

"What?" Jack asked, noticing the look of fear in his wife's eyes.

"I'm not sure," Carolyn said, not even bothering to offer the couple a reassuring smile. She moved the wand to various places on Sam's stomach as she stared at the picture.

Jack looked up at the screen, somewhat surprised. "Is that what I think..." He began, unwilling to jinx the results.

Carolyn nodded slowly. "I don't care what your blood and urine tests have said, General. You're pregnant."

"Excuse me?" Sam asked, managing to find her voice first.

"There's your baby," Carolyn said, pointing to a spot on the ultrasound where a head could clearly be deciphered as well as four fingers. "And from the looks of it, he or she is as healthy and happy as a...twelve-week-old fetus can be."

Sam turned a shocked eye to her husband who was more than a little bewildered himself. "We're...going to have a baby," she managed faintly.

"Yeah. I got that," he said, tearing his eyes from the ultrasound screen to look at her.

She managed a grin as tears of joy and gratitude welled up in her eyes.

Jack leaned over and kissed her cheek. "What'd I say, Carter?" He murmured as he rested his forehead against her cheek. "Never say never..."

She chuckled softly as the tears came more and more quickly.

Carolyn smiled as she slipped out of the examination room to allow the couple a little more privacy.

"A baby," Sam whispered, not even noticing the doctor's departure.

"Yeah," he said as a grin slowly recaptured his features.

"Twelve weeks," she said in absolute wonder.

"Yeah. A little less than a third through."

"And I thought I was just being moody because of my job," she teased.

He laughed heartily as she sobered.

"What?" He asked, noticing the change.

"What about the telekinesis?" She asked after a moment.

"What about it?"

She swallowed. "What if...I'm not the one who's telekinetic?"

"Oh." He said with sudden understanding.

She sighed softly as she rested a hand on her stomach, protectively.

"Well, we're just going to have to deal." He said after a moment. "Like we did with Grace's clairvoyance."

"But we never had to deal with daycare and telekinesis."

He grimaced at the thought before he exhaled. "I'm going to say no," he said, finally. "Marks can find another secretary of defense. I'll keep training my airmen, and you can keep your command..."

"Oh, I don't think so." She said, seriously. "Not if I'm going to have a baby."

"Sam..."

"Jack, we had a miscarriage because I had some scar tissue which we'd missed. I'm putting in for reassignment or retirement as soon as it can be approved because I refuse to have a miscarriage because of stress."

"Honey, I think if you were going to miscarry, you would have done it by now," he said, seriously. "I mean, what's more stressful than a new enemy?"

"True," she said after a moment.

"You do what you want to do, and I'll support you, but...I don't think that miscarriage needs to be your reason."

She nodded. "We'll think about it, then."

"Yeah." He said with a grin.

"You can't keep from smiling, can you?" She asked, affectionately.

"Can you?" He challenged.

"No." She said, breaking into a full mega-watt smile.

He leaned over and kissed her lips. "I love you, Samantha Carter."

"I love you too, Jack O'Neill," she said with a tender smile.


	21. Decisions

Sam walked into Daniel's office as she'd promised though she was somewhat nervous as she stepped inside. "Got a minute?" She asked, causing the archaeologist to look up from his book.

"Oh, Sam! No...no, I'm not busy." He said, instantly setting the book down. "How are you feeling?"

She chuckled softly. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I mean, you and Jack looked really..." He trailed off as he realized that the retired Lieutenant General was nowhere to be found.

"Speaking of Jack...where is he?"

Sam grinned. "He went to make a phone call."

"Oh." Daniel said, looking at her for a moment before clearing his throat. "So...you're okay?"

She nodded. "Fine. We were afraid that it was bad news, but...it wasn't."

"What kind of bad news?" Daniel asked, earnestly.

She tensed. "Well...um...funny you should ask, you see..." She swallowed. "That's a loaded question."

His brow furrowed. "Really?"

"Well, I came in because I suddenly was experiencing telekinetic powers, and..."

"Whoa..." Daniel interrupted. "Telekinesis?"

She nodded.

"Uh...weird."

"And something we weren't exactly eager for those reporters to see either." Sam admitted.

"I bet."

"Anyway, so we came in about that, and then when Jack shared that I'd had trouble zipping up my skirt this morning..."

"Ah. That explains the sudden change to BDUs," he teased.

She threw him an amused, yet pointed, look. "I guess we frightened Dr. Lam."

"You scared her?" Daniel asked, surprised. "Not the other way around?"

"Well...she thought I might have a...mass...in my abdomen."

"And you don't." He clarified.

"Well...not...exactly..." She said, grimacing somewhat as she tried to be completely accurate.

"What do you mean "not exactly"?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm pregnant." She said, waiting for a reaction.

He was silent for a moment.

"Daniel?" She asked, trying to read his expression.

"Th-that's great!" He cried as he started to comprehend her words. He flung his arms around her in a brotherly hug. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you," she said with a grin.

"You have to tell Vala!" He announced instantly.

"Tell me what, Daniel?" Vala asked, walking into the lab as she carried a plate with a piece of chocolate cake on it. She'd already started in on it as was evidenced by the trail of crumbs that dusted her maternity BDUs.

Sam turned with a smile. "Uh..."

"Sam's pregnant!" Daniel announced before she could have a chance to say anything.

Sam laughed softly as she looked at her friend. "Really?" She asked with amused incredulity.

He shrugged. "It's just..."

"I know. It's just so damned exciting!" Jack agreed from where he entered the room.

Sam smiled as he leaned in and kissed her gently. "How'd it go?" She asked, more quietly.

"He agreed to call off the reporters," he said, soberly. "After all, it's no use trying to pressure me into a job I've already turned down."

"What was your reason?" She asked, curiously.

"You."

"Me?" She asked, confused.

"Yeah. You're gonna need my help twenty-four hours a day, and I can't give it if I'm in Senate hearings and going who knows where."

"My knight in shining armor," she teased gently as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"How far along are you?" Vala asked, looking over at her friend.

"About twelve weeks according to the ultrasound."

"Twelve weeks?" Daniel asked, surprised.

"Yeah." She said, nodding in chagrin. "And I've taken half a dozen different pregnancy tests in the last three months. You'd think at least one of them would have been positive."

"Why weren't they?" Vala asked, curiously.

"We think it was that wacky alien pheromone which is probably responsible for her being pregnant in the first place." Jack said, seriously.

"Oh, you didn't have a hand it that?" Daniel asked with a teasing smile on his face.

"Easy there, fella." Jack warned playfully.

Sam chuckled. "No, Jack's right. It seems that my hormones haven't just been wacky because of the pregnancy but also because of the alien pheromone which led to a recreation of the..." She coughed, uncomfortably. "Virus of the Touched moment in the locker room from our first year here at the Program."

Daniel winced, clearly not wanting to think about the Virus of the Touched.

"The what?" Vala asked, innocently.

"We'll tell you when you're older," Jack said, wryly.

"But I..."

"You'll never be old enough for that story, Vala," Daniel said, shaking his head.

"Suffice it to say, there was some...primal instinct on my part." Sam said, uncomfortably. "And on Jack's part. And...well, I guess I wanted kids a lot earlier than we got them."

"Yes, well..." Jack said with a shrug, causing his wife to grin.

"And Jack pummeled me in an effort to protect his...territory." Daniel grimaced.

"Sorry about that, by the way," Jack said, looking at his friend.

"Alien influence." Daniel shrugged nonchalantly as he looked back at Jack.

Sam shook her head with a small smile.

"How are you feeling?" Vala asked, setting the cake down on the counter as she looked at Sam.

Sam opened her mouth, but they heard Daniel's voice. "Vala!"

"What?" Vala asked, looking at him, curiously.

"Ancient text...and...cake..." Daniel cried, picking up her plate.

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly..."

Sam and Jack exchanged minorly amused looks with one another before sobering.

"As I was saying..." Vala said, turning back to Sam.

"I'm great." She said with a smile. "And...if you don't mind, I'm going to go save the base from Cam."

"Good luck," Vala snickered.

Sam smiled before turning back to her husband. "Walk you to the elevator?"

"With an offer like that? How can I refuse?" He winked.

She grinned, and he turned back to Daniel and Vala. "See ya."

"Bye, Jack." Daniel said, shaking his head.

"You and I will have to find some time to go shopping," Sam smiled as she looked over at Vala.

"You better believe it," she said with a grin.

"There goes my paycheck," Daniel groaned.

"And my pension," Jack chuckled.

"Watch it," Sam laughed as they left the office.

"Hey, at least I still get to keep my paycheck," he teased.

Sam grinned as she walked him to the elevator. "See you at home?"

"Yep."

"Any thoughts on what the reporter situation's looking like?" She asked, more soberly.

"Uh...no. I thought I'd let Grace stay at least one more night at the Carmichaels' while we let this die down."

She nodded in agreement. "I think that's wise."

"You've still got your car here, right?"

"Yep. I'm all set."

"Great. Then, I'll see you tonight."

"That you will." She said, nodding.

"Not too late." He admonished. "It's not just you anymore, you know."

She grinned as she nodded. "Home by eight. I swear."

"Unless there's an emergency?" He asked as he slipped into the elevator.

"Exactly." She smiled.

"I'll hold you to that."

"I wouldn't expect any less." She said, waving as the elevator doors closed.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" An airman asked, approaching her.

"Yes, airman," she said, turning.

"Ma'am, Colonel Mitchell said to find you and ask you to go to the briefing room. He says it's urgent."

Sam sighed before she managed a small smile. "Thank you, airman."

"You're welcome, ma'am."

She hurried as quickly as she could up to the briefing room. "Cam, what've we got?"

"This." He said, pressing a button on a remote which turned on the television set which had been wheeled into the briefing room.

"General O'Neill, the man who's being considered the favorite for the United States Secretary of Defense nomination to the Presidential candidate, was seen entering Cheyenne Mountain with his wife, Brigadier General Samantha Carter. The couple, who have dodged our attempts at interview since early yesterday afternoon, apparently found their way to a sublevel of the complex which has been heavily guarded and requires top-level security clearance..."

Cam turned off the television as Sam's jaw dropped. "And the Air Force let this go on the air?"

"The President's on line one," he said, soberly.

"Of course he is," she murmured as she hurried into the office, unofficially taking command back from the Lieutenant Colonel. "Mr. President," Sam greeted, professionally.

"How much did those reporters see?" He demanded.

"Nothing," she said, seriously. "If they'd seen anything, they'd have already broadcasted it."

"How did that broadcast get approved?"

"I don't know, sir," she said, honestly. "Usually the Pentagon stops these kinds of things in their tracks. If they need our help, they pass it along, but we didn't receive any such messages."

"I don't want this coming out. Not like this."

"I understand, sir."

He sighed. "What's Marks playing at, General?"

"To be quite honest, sir," she said with a small sigh. "I have absolutely no idea."

"Is Jack going to take the deal?"

"No, he's already refused the nomination. Not that it isn't a wonderful opportunity, but..."

"With your family as young as it is, I understand," he said, seriously. He sighed. "Tell me how to stop this, Sam."

She exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know anymore than you do."

"Yeah. I was afraid of that," he murmured.

"I'll do everything I can on our end. Let me know if you come up with anything."

"I will," he said as he hung up the phone.

She released a heavy sigh of her own as she sank back into her chair. She and her husband were in the middle of a game to which only one man seemed to know the rules. She didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit.

-

"General, your husband is on line one," Walter announced, poking his head in the door.

"Thank you, Walter." She said, gratefully as she reached for the phone. "Jack."

"Did you see the news?"

"Yes, I did." She admitted. "So did the President." She sighed. "He's not happy, Jack."

"I'M not happy!" Jack cried, angrily.

"Look, I think we have to accept that Marks has some sort of agenda here, and he's not going to rest until he pushes it through."

"You mean an ultimatum? Me as Secretary of Defense or complete unveiling of the Stargate program?" He asked with a sigh.

"Truth be told, I don't know what's going on in his mind, but..." She exhaled. "I think you're the only one in a position to ask him what his terms are."

Jack groaned. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

"I'm sorry," she said, sympathetically.

"Hey, you're not the one chomping at the bit to have the authority to make the Stargate program go public," he said with a sigh. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I can be sorry that the burden falls on your shoulders," she said seriously.

"Then, I appreciate it." He said, soberly.

"Order a pizza around seven-thirty and then, when I get home, we'll watch a movie and eat pizza, okay?" She suggested.

"Even that alien movie you love so much?" He teased.

"Even that alien movie I hate so much." She laughed.

"I'll order the pizza, but other than that, I think we should play it by ear..."

"Whatever you want, Jack. I can't change the fact that you have to dirty yourself in the river of politics, but I can make sure that the rest of your evening is as enjoyable as possible." She said with a small smile. "After all, we do have something to celebrate."

"Yeah, we do," he said, fondly.

"Call me if you need me home earlier than eight." She said, soberly.

"I will."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

"See you at eight."

"See you then."

She hung up the phone as anger surged within her. What gave Brandon Marks the right to throw the world into chaos by publicly announcing the existence of the Stargate program? And what did he hope to gain by it?

Her blood chilled as she remembered for the first time in years the alternate reality she'd visited where President Hank Landry had elected to enact martial law in an effort to keep the peace in the streets. Power. It all came down to power. And she felt utterly incapable of stopping one man from wielding it so cavalierly. "Come on, Jack," she murmured. "If anyone can keep the secret from coming out, you can."

-

"General Carter," Teal'c greeted as he walked into her office a few minutes before she was ready to leave.

"Teal'c," she said, warmly. "How are you?"

"I am well," he said, earnestly. "I hear that congratulations are in order for you and O'Neill."

She smiled softly. "You heard correctly."

"The child will be very blessed to have parents such as you," he said, sincerely.

"Thank you, Teal'c." She said with a grateful smile. "What can I do for you?"

"It is not what you can do for me," he said, shaking his head. "But what I can do for you, which brings me here."

"Oh?" She asked, surprised.

He nodded. "I have heard rumors that travel from your automotive vehicle to your front door is somewhat treacherous."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly put it that way," she said with a faintly amused smile. "But it's not exactly easy."

"I wish to offer my services as a protective escort in such times as you encounter such resistance."

"Thank you, Teal'c." She said with a grateful smile. "That would be nice."

"I am prepared to leave when you are ready," he said, nodding.

"I just have to get someone to cover the base tonight, change my clothes, and then I'm ready," she said, nodding.

"Then, I will await your call."

"Sounds good," she said with a small nod.

-

It was only a few minutes before she and Teal'c were headed up in the elevator toward the car. "Thank you, Teal'c." Sam said again.

"You and O'Neill are like a brother and sister to me," he said, stoically. "I am happy to do it."

They arrived at the surface, and Sam sighed at the sight of all of the reporters lined up just outside the gate to the Cheyenne Mountain complex.

"General Carter," Teal'c murmured, pulling her attention back to the car door which he'd opened for her.

"Thank you, Teal'c." She said with a lined expression on her face.

"It will be all right," he assured.

She nodded. "I hope so."

He gave her a reassuring smile before he slipped into the driver's seat and started the car.

The drive was fairly short since both she and Jack had insisted on getting a house close to the base when they'd relocated back to the Springs a few years earlier, and Sam was grateful for the chance to pull her thoughts back together as she and Teal'c drove quietly to the house. Still, she had to sigh when she looked out her window to see her house, now swarming with double the number of reporters from the day before.

She exhaled slowly as Teal'c pulled slowly into the driveway and stepped out of the car. Like the day before, he opened her door, and shielded her from the reporters' microphones which were being thrust into her face as they walked toward the door.

"General Carter, is it true that your husband has refused the accept the nomination for secretary of defense?"

"...what were you and your husband doing under Cheyenne Mountain earlier today?"

Once again, as she approached the porch, the door opened, and Jack helped his wife inside. "Oh, for cryin' out loud, leave my wife alone!" He yelled as he stood in the doorway. He looked at his friend and former teammate. "T, you comin'?"

Teal'c shook his head. "I must refrain, O'Neill."

Jack nodded. "Don't blame you."

Teal'c turned and made his way back through the crowd as Jack shook his head and closed the door. He sighed as he turned to face his wife. "Didn't call for a pizza because that mess out there," he murmured as he walked to the kitchen. "So I made spaghetti."

"No, that's okay," she said, shaking her head. "I understand. Spaghetti sounds fine."

He nodded as he served two plates of the spaghetti. He turned, and offered one to his wife who managed a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"I'm not really interested in eating at the table." He said after a moment. "You okay with eating in the den?"

She nodded. "Sure."

He opened the door to the basement, allowing her access to the stairwell before he closed the door behind them.

"Are you okay?" She asked as they walked down the stairs together.

"Fine," he murmured, obviously not in the mood to talk much.

"Okay..." She said as they walked to the couch.

Jack sat down in the corner, and she sat beside him as he picked up the remote. "I think there's a game on..."

She studied him out of the corner of her eye as she began to eat her dinner. "Who's playing?" She asked after a moment.

"Dunno."

"Ah." She said, nodding as she realized that he was just turning the television on so that he wouldn't have to talk. He wasn't much of a television watcher. He had the Simpsons and a few games throughout the year - usually hockey - which he enjoyed watching to unwind during the day, but usually, he didn't just flip through the channels to find a sports game. Like he was doing now.

She continued to eat her dinner as he sat back, having finally found the game which he wanted to watch.

They were silent for a few moments as Sam let the game do all of the talking until she finished her food.

With a contented sigh, she sat back, resting the back of her head on Jack's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She reached up with her left hand and caught his fingers in hers while she extended both of her legs so that they rested on the couch cushions. Jack leaned over and kissed the top of her head as the commercial came on, and Sam smiled. "You know, he looked like he was sucking his thumb," she said after a moment as she thought tenderly on the ultrasound that had revealed her pregnancy.

"He?" Jack asked, turning his attention to her.

She blushed. "The baby. I mean, I know we don't know for sure whether or not it's a boy or a girl, but...Grace did have her dream..."

"Where she had a brother named Jacob. Right."

It wasn't too hard to figure out that something besides their upcoming parenthood was on his mind at the soberness of his answer.

"Jack?" She asked after another moment.

"Hm?"

She swallowed. "What's wrong?"

He sighed. "It's blackmail. Just like I suspected."

She tensed. "And?"

"And it seems that the only chance we have of keeping the chaos you saw in that alternate reality from starting here on Earth is to accept the nomination for the President's cabinet."

Sam swallowed as she looked up at him. "I was hoping we were wrong," she managed.

"Yeah." He sighed as he played with the plate of spaghetti which sat on his lap. "Me too."

"How's he going to keep from exposing the Program?" She asked after a moment.

"Apparently he's got a pretty controversial candidate for his cabinet which he hasn't even mentioned yet because he wanted to make sure that he'd have some leverage on me."

She closed her eyes as she exhaled slowly. "What are you going to do?" She asked after a moment.

"I guess I'm...going to say yes..." He said, taking a swig of a beer which he'd apparently had on the table long before she'd come down.


	22. Midnight Musings

Sam lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling as she had her hands clasped over her abdomen. She was exhausted and knew that she should sleep, but her mind wouldn't stop going around and around as she thought about her husband's fledgling political career. Senate confirmation hearings, press interviews, tabloids, meetings with foreign dignitaries...they were all going to be a part of their everyday conversation.

A move back to DC was definitely in order if he, however reluctantly, accepted this appointment.

As was her resignation from the SGC.

"Jack," she whispered as she turned to look at him. He was so cute when he slept, curled up on his stomach almost like an overgrown infant.

There was no response from her overgrown child of a husband.

"Jack," she murmured again, this time, gently shaking him as she had the night they'd awoken him from his Asgard-induced hibernation.

"Wha?" He groaned from where his cheek lay pressed against the mattress.

"You awake?"

"Uh-uh." He mumbled, his eyes closed firmly.

She studied him for a moment as she wondered if she should wake him. "Jack, I can't sleep."

"Congratulations," he murmured, sarcastically.

"Jack!" She chuckled softly as she rolled over to face him, gently rolling the pillow into the crook of her neck as she came face-to-face with her supposedly sleeping husband. "Don't even try to pretend like you're asleep. You snore when you're really asleep."

"Do not." He protested.

"Do too." She laughed. "Oh, you don't snore off-world, but you're like a fog horn when you're at home," she teased.

"Gee, thanks," he murmured as he finally opened his eyes and looked at her. He took a moment, sobering slowly to study her face in the moonlight. "Why can't you sleep?" He asked more seriously.

She bit her lip as she set her lighthearted teasing aside. "What will keep Marks from exposing the Program even after you accept his nomination?"

He sighed, as awake as she had suspected. "Well, I could always blackmail him back...it wouldn't be the first time, you know."

"True," she said, pensively as she remembered how he'd blackmailed Senator Kinsey.

"I could basically leverage my resignation against the secret. It comes out, I'm gone. Simple as that."

She inhaled and exhaled as she considered the ramifications of his suggestion. "That would put the media back at our doorstep."

"They'd be at our doorstep anyway. I mean, we were on the frontline team at the SGC for at least seven years each."

She nodded again.

"Hey, I'm not going to let them do anything to hurt your career or scar the kids in any way." He assured, gently placing a hand on her arm.

"I wasn't worried about my career," she said, softly.

"But you were worried about Grace and the baby," he said, perceptively.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm going to call the shots," he said, steadfastly. "I can get myself into a position of power where they have to play by my rules."

She nodded slowly. He was good at that. Even when it had seemed like they'd been between a rock and a hard place off-world, he'd managed to get them the upper hand and get them home.

"You and the kids? You're going to be off-limits. I'm going to make sure of it."

She smiled softly. "You take such good care of us," she whispered, gratefully.

"It's what I do," he said with a modest shrug though she could see the sparkle of amusement in his eyes.

She scooted closer to him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She rested her cheek on his shoulder as she closed her eyes. "Maybe I should stay home this weekend," she said, softly. "We could get Grace and just hibernate for those few days, and then reemerge for the work week."

Jack managed a small laugh. "Why does this sound like a disaster?" He teased, gently.

She smiled as she looked up at him. "Well, maybe you should come with us to DC."

He sighed this time. "Why does that seem like an even bigger disaster?"

"You and Grace could come with me to the SGC. We'll just get away from the reporters, not actually into the facility, but then, we could beam to the Cassandra's apartment and...voila!"

"And then, explain to our seven-year-old what just happened..." He said, skeptically.

She swallowed. "Well, she probably already knows about our jobs." She said, grimacing. "I mean, she knew what Teal'c's real name was..."

He shrugged. "Maybe. But until we know for sure that she knows, let's not invite any trouble, hm?"

"Okay," she said with a small smile.

"You should just go to DC and not worry about me."

"You know, if you were to keep Grace this weekend while I go to DC, Cassie and I could probably do our shopping more quickly, and we could all take one of the weekends I have set aside to go to the cabin. You know, Daniel, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Cassandra, Cameron, Grace, you and me..."

"That...sounds great," he murmured with a yawn.

"You want to go to sleep, don't you?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Um-hm..." He murmured as he nuzzled his face in her neck as he wrapped his other arm around her.

She smiled softly. "I love you," she whispered, affectionately, as she leaned her own head against his and closed her eyes.

"So...thumb-sucking, huh?" Jack asked as their conversation faded back into silence.

"Hm?" She asked, waking herself slightly.

"Junior...you think he's sucking his thumb?"

She grinned. "Well, that's what it looked like on the screen."

"Hm..."

"I think he got it from you," she teased, gently.

He laughed softly before looking down at her stomach. "Don't listen to her, Homer. She's just jealous..."

Sam couldn't help but laugh as she grimaced at the nickname her husband had chosen for their unborn child. "Uh-uh." She said, shaking her head.

"What's wrong with Homer?" He asked with mock innocence on his face as an amused smile slowly grew on his face.

"Just...no." She said, still shaking her disapproval.

"Okay...Bart." He said, knowing that he'd hit her funny bone again.

"No." She giggled again. "No Simpsons."

"But Sam!" He whined.

"Junior's bad enough!" She laughed, looking over at him. "I mean, I just have visions of Teal'c's symbiote..."

"So, what? Mini-me's already taken."

She pressed her face against his chest as she tried to stifle her laughter.

"And you've ix-nayed everything else I've come up with, so I got nothin'."

She tried to keep from chuckling at his expense, but it was just too hard.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud," he murmured, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

"You could call him the Thumb-Sucker," she teased.

"Awfully big superhero name for such a little guy," he winked.

"You'll think of something," she murmured, contentedly, as he strengthened his grip around her again.

"You're probably right," he said, calming down slightly. "I could call him...Thor."

She let out an unexpected chortle at the thought of the little gray alien being somehow similar to her unborn son.

"What?" He asked with a proud smile as he realized he'd made her laugh again. "You don't want to have the name of the Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet?"

She tried to keep from laughing, but it was no use. "I just have visions of Thor. As a baby."

Jack joined the laughing. "Maybe it is a little farfetched. Besides...Danny's probably going to want to name HIS baby after some...ancient god..."

"Now, I've got this image of a baby dressed in a pelt diaper with a thunder bolt in his hand," she giggled.

He shook his head with a smile. "Sleep, Carter. You need sleep."

"Oh, don't I know it," she murmured as she sighed after her long gigglefest.

He kissed her cheek. "Calm enough to get some sleep now?"

"Sure hope so," she said more sedately, but still with a smile on her lips.

He cuddled up to her. "Good. Me too. Good night, Sam."

"Good night, Jack." She whispered, affectionately as she felt sleep finally begin to overtake her mind.


	23. Stress

_*A/N: Sorry folks - Jury duty and a job search have consumed my thoughts. But I think I'm back!*_

Sam walked off the elevator, having changed into her BDUs in the women's locker room only a few moments before. It was time, once again, to relieve Colonel Reynolds from his overnight command.

"Oh, good!" She heard Daniel cry from the corridor perpendicular to the stairwell which led to the control room. "Sam!"

She turned. "Yes, Daniel?"

"I had a few questions for you," he said, jogging to catch up to her.

"You and the rest of the world," she said, trying to remain somewhat pleasant about her apparent attraction of people with questions. Reporters. Scientists. Daniel. "What can I help you with?"

"First of all, nothing's changed with the news about Jack. Didn't he turn down the nomination?"

She sighed as she walked up the steps to the control room and toward the steps that led to the briefing room and her office. "Uh...well, that's,

uh," she laughed nervously. "That's complicated."

"What?" Daniel asked, surprised. "How complicated?"

She walked up the stairs to the briefing room as he followed. "Well, first of all, he did turn down the nomination. And then, we had threats of the revelation of the Stargate program unless he changed his mind."

"You're kidding," the archaeologist said, utterly disgusted.

She sighed as they reached the briefing room and headed to her office. "I'm afraid not."

"So, Jack got blackmailed into accepting the nomination?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Unfortunately."

"But why?"

"I think it's because this president wants to surround him by important Stargate personnel. People who can make him look good." She sighed. "It's the same tactic that the President Landry used in that alternate reality." She bit the inside of her cheeks. "I was one of those people for him. A hero that he manipulated for political gain. Just like Cameron Mitchell before me, and Jack now with this President."

Daniel sighed. "I think it's wrong."

She shrugged. "It's politics."

"Yeah, but..."

"There's nothing to say that Jack's going to be an acceptable candidate as far as the Senate's concerned," she interrupted. "That's the closest thing we have to an out at the moment. Unless Marks goes back on his word and reveals the existence of the Stargate Program despite the fact that Jack did exactly as he asked."

"What happens with your job here, then?" He asked after a moment.

She tensed. "I...I guess...I'll be stepping down. At some point." She swallowed. "Can't exactly live in two different places across the country." She bit her lip as she remembered their long-distance dating. "At least, not with Grace and the pregnancy."

Daniel nodded slowly.

"What else did you need to talk to me about?" She asked, sitting in the chair behind her desk.

He looked at her, confused.

"You said you had several questions and started off with "first of all"," she explained. "What now?"

"Oh...uh...nothing." He said, shaking his head. "I'm gonna get back to my research for our next mission offworld."

She nodded. "All right."

-

"General?" Walter asked, knocking on the door to her office.

"Yes, Walter?" She asked, looking up from her laptop and the many reports she was reading and writing.

"Your husband's on line one, ma'am."

"Thank you," she said, gratefully, as she reached for the extension and pressed the button. "Carter," she greeted.

"Hi, Sam," Jack said with a tired smile in his voice.

"Better day than yesterday?" She asked, hopefully.

"Slightly." He admitted. "Though there is something that came up unexpectedly."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I got a call from the school. Apparently, Grace is running a temperature."

"What?" Sam asked, worriedly.

"Yeah. I'm not too worried about it. She's probably just got a cold. I mean, she has spent a lot more time with kids lately than usual."

"True," she said, still concerned.

"Anyway, I thought I'd go pick her up, and tell Mrs. Carmichael that we've got things under control at our house."

"But we don't," she reminded him.

"Well, if anyone tries to mess with my little girl - sick or not - they'll learn that it was a poor choice," he said, seriously.

"I want to be with you when you explain to her what's going on." She said, soberly.

"Can you get away for a little while?" He asked, not even trying to keep her from coming.

"Probably. I have an opening in my day. I was going to read and write my reports, but I'd rather make sure Grace is comfortable."

"If you're sure," he said, seriously.

"Can you pick me up? I don't really want to get through the reporters on my own, but Teal'c and the rest of SG-1 just went off-world."

"Sure." He said, seriously. "Where'd they go?"

"Just standard recon mission." She assured. "You know, soil samples, visit with the locals, all that jazz..."

"Ah." He said in understanding. "Well, I'll be there in fifteen."

"Great. Thanks. I'll be waiting at the surface then."

She hung up the phone before pressing the intercom button. "Walter? Get Hank Landry on the phone please?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She bit her lip, pensively, before the intercom beeped again. "Ma'am? I have General Landry on line one."

"Thank you, Walter," she said, managing a grateful smile as she picked up the phone. "General," she greeted, professionally.

"Oh, please," the genial man chuckled. "It's Hank."

"I'm sorry, sir," she smiled. "I keep trying, but..."

"I understand," he laughed. "How can I help you?"

"I need to talk to you about retirement..."

"Retirement?" He asked, surprised.

"With Jack's recent nomination to the Presidential cabinet, I could be considered a conflict of interest." She said, logically. "And given the fact that I'm pregnant again, and..."

"You're pregnant?" The General asked, surprised.

She blushed lightly. "Yeah."

"Congratulations," he said with a smile audible in his tone.

"Thank you, sir." She said, gratefully. "But as I was saying..."

"You want to be more cautious," he inferred. "I understand. I'll look into it."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He said, warmly. "I can't promise anything about the timing..."

"I understand."

"Anything else?"

She shook her head. "I think that's all."

"Well, congratulations on the baby and good luck with the appointment and the reporters," he said, sincerely.

"Thanks. I think we're going to need it." She said as she hung up the phone.

-

Jack's black Ford F-250 truck met Sam as she appeared at the surface. She wrapped her coat further around her, trying to ward off the early December chill as she hurried around to the passenger side. "Hey, Jack," she murmured as she got into the car.

"Cold?" He asked, looking over at her.

She nodded. "Yeah. It's a little chilly," she admitted.

"Want me to turn the heat up?"

She shook her head. "Nah. It's warmer in here. I'll be fine in no time."

He nodded slowly as he pulled away from the curb. "Gotta hope that this cold front keeps the reporters at bay..."

She offered him an appreciative, but tired, smile.

"How was your day?" He asked, looking over at her.

"Fine. SG-1 and SG-4 got off on their respective missions all right, all of our teams are accounted for and safe, to the best of our knowledge, and apparently, Bra'tac and the Jaffa Council have won some skirmishes against their newfound enemy."

"Oh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

She nodded. "It's been a big morale boost for the Jaffa to shake off the fear and remind them that they can handle their opponents."

"Good." He said, nodding. "And Junior?"

"Is swimming around like there's nothing going on," Sam chuckled softly.

"Lucky," Jack said with a faint smile.

"You okay?" Sam asked, looking over at him.

He nodded. "Just...tired."

She bit the inside of her cheek as she studied him. He looked every one of his nearly sixty years. "You sure?"

He managed a thin smile. "Yeah."

"Let's get you home, and I"ll take care of Grace while you rest." She said, leaning over and running her fingers through his gray hair.

"I'm fine," he grumbled good-naturedly, sounding a little more like himself.

"I just worry about you," she murmured, softly. "Especially with everything that's going on..."

"I'm fine," he said, turning an affectionate smile to his wife as he drove toward their daughter's school.

She nodded slowly as she leaned the back of her head on the seat, letting one hand rest gently on her stomach as she looked out the window.

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" Jack asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah." She said, nodding with a warm smile.

"I know this reporter thing hasn't been easy on you either..."

"I'm fine," she reassured. She paused for a few moments before turning back to look at him. "Jack.."

"Hm?"

"I called Hank Landry today," she said, softly.

"Oh?"

"I asked him to look into the chances of my retirement."

"What'd he say?"

"He said he'd look into it, but he didn't have much to say on the subject. At least not yet."

"Ah." He said, pulling into the elementary school parking lot.

"I'll get her," Sam said as he stopped in front of the school doors.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded as she slipped out of the truck. "Yeah."

He smiled softly as he watched her close the door and walk into the school. With a sober sigh, he absently rubbed his right arm, wearily. His wife and daughter didn't deserve the negative attention of the press, and he was racking his brain to find some way to keep them out of the lime light. He closed his eyes as he rested the back of his head on the headrest. He was so tired. Tired of all of this mess.

-

Sam walked into the nurse's office where Grace lay half-asleep on the small couch. "Hey there, angel," she murmured as she sat beside her daughter on the bed. "I heard you're not feeling so well today."

Grace's eyes fluttered open as she shook her head.

"Come on," she said, gently running a hand up and down Grace's arm. "Your dad's in the car. Let's go home."

Grace's eyes filled up with tears. "I missed you," she whimpered.

Sam bent down and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Oh, angel," she whispered. "I missed you too."

-

Sam looked at her daughter in the backseat. "Poor thing," she murmured, sympathetically, as she looked back at her husband. "She's practically asleep."

"Her body's working awfully hard," he said, looking back at his daughter in the rearview mirror.

"You missed her," she said, studying him as he drove into the driveway.

"Yeah." He admitted, nodding.

"Me too." She bit her lip as she thought for a few moments. "She cried," she whispered after a few moments. "When I walked in, she cried. Said she missed me."

"You're her mom," Jack said simply as he parked the car in the driveway.

"I know," Sam said, softly.

"I'll take her inside." Jack said, preparing to step out of the car and into the sea of reporters.

"I'll get the door," Sam said, preparing to do the same.

"General O'Neill," one of the reporters began, thrusting a microphone into Jack's face as he carried Grace toward the door. "What can you offer the Presidential cabinet that they couldn't get from another candidate?"

"General O'Neill, isn't this your adopted daughter, Grace?"

"General O'Neill, is it true that your son was accidentally killed when he fired your personal firearm..."

"No comment," Sam interrupted with a bite in her voice as she shielded her husband from their questions.

She opened the door and helped her husband inside before shutting the door in the faces of the eager reporters.

"Thanks," he murmured, breathlessly, as he paused in the entryway.

Sam studied him. He wasn't normally so breathless after such a short walk - even if he had Grace in his arms. "Jack, I'm worried about you," she said, seriously.

"I'm fine," he said, shaking his head. "I'll get Grace to bed, and then I'll sit in the den and watch the game..."

Grace stirred. "I can go to my own bed," she murmured, sleepily.

"We'll be in there in a few minutes, angel," Sam said, kissing her cheek as Jack reluctantly let her go.

"'Kay." She said as Doc ran into the entryway with his tail wagging in joyful greeting. "Hi, Doc," she whispered, listlessly.

The girl and her dog began their walk to her bedroom as Jack rotated his right shoulder, gently squeezing his hand as he did so.

"Jack..." Sam began as she followed him into the living room just off the entryway where he sat down on the loveseat.

"I'm fine. Must be an old injury acting up." He said, waving away her concern.

"It's usually your knee," she said, sitting next to him. "And with your heavy breathing, and your tiredness..."

"Sam..."

"I think you should get checked out, Jack," she said, sincerely.

The telephone rang, and he began to stand before she stopped him. "Oh, no. I'll get it. You stay here."

He sighed. "Yes, ma'am."

"Hello?" Sam asked as she answered the house phone only a few moments later.

"Hello, is this the O'Neill house?"

"Yes." Sam said, raising an eyebrow. "And this is?"

There was a pause before the female voice answered. "This is Sara. I'm Jack's ex-wife."

Sam inhaled as her vision darted back to where her husband sat on the couch in the living room. "Let me guess...you need to talk to Jack about the reporter problem?"

"I just want to know what he wants me to say to them."

"Let me get him," Sam said with a small sigh as she walked over to the living room. She put her hand over the microphone as Jack looked over at her with a questioning eye. "It's...Sara..." She murmured.

"Oh..." He sighed as he reached for the phone. "Sara?" He asked, answering it. "I take it they found you too." He paused as he listened to his ex-wife for a moment. "No, no...I'll see what I can shouldn't have to deal with this anymore." He paused again, only this time he took the opportunity to try and loosen the collar of his dress uniform shirt which he'd begun wearing again upon his return to work at the Academy. "Yeah, just a simple "No comment" should get them off your back. And if that doesn't work, call me back, and I'll take care of it, okay?" He nodded as he listened to her some more. "Yeah. You too. Bye."

"Reporters find her too?" Sam asked, looking over at him.

He nodded slowly, looking considerably older than his 59 years.

"Jack..."

"What?" He asked from where he sat, holding the phone in his hands as if he didn't know what to do with it anymore.

"You don't look so good," she admitted as she noticed the color wash from his face.

He blinked a few times. "I...I..." He began in sudden confusion. "I don't feel so..."

"Jack?"

He didn't react to her urgent cry. His eyes rolled back in his head as his body instantly became limp.

"Jack!" She cried, gently slapping his face as panic welled up in her chest. "Jack, wake up."

There was no response.

She touched a finger to throat to feel for a heart beat, but felt nothing.

"No, no, no!" She cried as she pulled him down to the floor and began CPR. "Come on, Jack...Don't quit on me now."

She paused and felt his gray skin for a pulse.

Still nothing.

"Dammit, Jack, don't do this to me!" She yelled at him, irrationally hoping that her anger would pull him back to consciousness.

"Mom?" Grace asked, somewhat confused, from where she stood in the doorway of the living room.

"Grace, I need you to pick up the phone," Sam instructed urgently. "I need you to call 9-1-1. Tell them I think your dad just had a heart attack."

Grace's eyes widened as she reached for the phone with trembling fingers. "Is he..."

"He's going to be just fine," Sam said, continuing her CPR. "But I need you to call them."

Grace swallowed as she nodded repeatedly and began to dial the number.

Sam reached down after another break, and felt for a pulse. To her relief, she found a faint pulse. "Stay with me," she whispered. "Stay with us, Jack."


	24. Worry

"Jack O'Neill, the man whose name is being put before the Senate for the Secretary of Defense position, was rushed from his home in Colorado Springs this afternoon by ambulance. He is currently being treated at the Air Force Academy Hospital..."

Cassandra's eyes widened as the video footage of Jack being raced from the house with a worried Sam and Grace trailing behind him was shown on the screen.

"General Carter, what happened?" Came the question from all of the reporters.

"LEAVE MY MOMMY ALONE!" Grace yelled at the top of her lungs.

Sam wrapped an arm around Grace before gently and silently leading her toward the car.

Instantly, Cassandra muted the sound on the television and reached for her cell.

"Carter," Sam murmured, numbly.

"Sam, it's me. I just saw the news. How is he?"

There was a long pause. "He's...he's still in with the doctors."

"I'll be right there," she announced instantly.

"You don't have to do that, Cass...." She tried explain limply.

"I'm coming." Cassandra said, seriously. "Where's SG-1?"

"On a mission."

"See, you need me. I'll come and help with Grace, okay?"

"Okay."

"How's she doing?"

"She's a little sick herself." Sam said with a sigh. "We went to pick her up from school because she was running a temperature. She's just been sitting and sleeping since we got here. I mean, she tried not to fall asleep, but..."

"She's sick and she needed the rest," Cassandra filled in.

"Exactly."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine." Sam said, softly.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I'm as fine as I can be, given the fact that my husband could be on the road to having heart surgery."

"Heart surgery?" Cassandra asked, almost faintly.

"He had a heart attack." She paused. "When the blood drained from his face...and I couldn't feel a pulse...I was so scared," she whispered after a moment.

"Oh, Sam..."

"We're at the Air Force Academy Hospital where your mom used to have an office," Sam said, having gathered her composure again. "Give them your name at the front desk, and they should let you through...past the reporters..."

"Okay. Take care of yourself."

"I'll try," Sam murmured, softly.

-

_"Sir, just go." She pleaded from behind the goa'uld force shield._

_"NO!" He cried, passionately, as they both realized the depth of their inappropriate feelings for one another._

The scene of the flashback changed once again like it had a hundred times in the last few hours. Suddenly, she was under the dome in Antarctica, leaning over his limp body as she felt for a pulse like she had only that afternoon.

_"Please...Jack..."_

_"Dor...mata..."_

Sam sat in the waiting room, her mind numbing itself to the reason why she was here as she stroked her daughter's hair. She was so good under pressure - the Air Force had made sure of that - but now, she was just waiting. And she was slowly falling apart.

Her cell phone rang several times before a man sitting beside her gently touched her shoulder. "Is that your phone?"

"Oh....yes....thank you..." She whispered as she came back to reality as she recognized her phone's ringtone for the first time. "Carter," she greeted, softly.

"Sam! I just heard about Jack." Hank Landry announced as she answered the phone. "Don't you worry about the base, I'll get a temporary commander, and you can come back when you're ready."

"Thank you, sir."

"How is he?"

"Right now, he's still in treatment. They won't let me see him yet."

"Heart attack?"

"Yeah."

"How are you? How's Grace?"

"We're fine. Grace is a little under the weather...we had to pick her up early from school because she had a temperature, but..." Sam swallowed. "I'm kind of glad she's sleeping through this and not worrying like I am."

"Do you want me to have Reynolds recall SG-1?"

"No, it's fine." She said, softly. "I know they'll want to know when they get back, but we should let them finish their mission."

"Do you have any family? Any friends who would be willing to come and be with you while you wait?"

"My brother recently moved to Denver. He should be here soon." She said, swallowing. "Cassandra Fraiser, Janet Fraiser's daughter, is flying in, but I don't know when she's going to be here exactly..."

"Let me know if you need anything," he said, earnestly. "And take care of yourself, okay?"

"I'll do my best," she said, managing a wan smile as she hung up the phone.

A man pushed through the reporters, causing Sam to look up before managing a teary smile. "Mark," she whispered as she gently lay Grace down across the two chairs so that she could hug her brother.

"Hey, Sam, how are you?" He asked as he finally released her.

"I'm...okay..." She managed in a slightly wavering tone.

"Worried, I'm sure," he said, soberly.

She nodded rapidly. "Yeah."

"How's Grace?"

"She's got a fever," she said, looking at her daughter worriedly. "She's been sleeping most of the time..."

"You want me to take her home?"

"That might be a good idea," she admitted.

"I can take her to your place or mine." He said, seriously.

"Mine's crawling with reporters." She said, shaking her head. "I don't want Grace to have to deal with that."

He nodded. "Well, Susan's on her way, so I'll get you something to eat from the cafeteria, and..."

"I'm not hungry," Sam said, shaking her head.

Mark raised an eyebrow. "I've had a pregnant wife before, Sam. I know you're hungry. Even if you don't want to admit it."

Her vision fell to the floor as she contemplated raising a child who would might not know anything about his father.

Mark swallowed. "At least let me get you a sandwich. Maybe some water or juice."

Sam nodded, numbly.

"He's going to be all right," Mark said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You said on the phone that he's got the best team of doctors in there."

She swallowed as she looked up into his eyes. "They may be the best," she whispered as she blinked away tears. "But...nobody can promise that he'll be all right."

Mark wrapped his arms around her. "He's a fighter, and he loves you and Grace too much to give up. Trust that that's stronger than this."

She clung to him as she closed her eyes and let the tears slip down her cheeks which she'd managed to keep at bay for so long. "I hope you're right." She sobbed softly.

-

"...I don't think a small statue which may or may not have any resemblance to any Earth god means that you won the bet," Mitchell said as SG-1 walked through the event horizon and into the SGC's gate room.

"That's just because you don't want to pay up," Daniel said, raising an eyebrow.

"Guys..." Neill interrupted as he saw Colonel Reynolds and Vala standing at the base of the ramp. Reynolds had a sober look on his face, and Vala's eyes seemed red and puffy as if she'd been crying.

"Vala?" Daniel asked, looking at his pregnant girlfriend.

She sniffed in response as Reynolds inhaled. "General O'Neill was rushed from his home to the Academy Hospital in an ambulance this afternoon," he began. "General Landry spoke with General Carter, and she indicated that the preliminary findings of his physical examinations was that he had had a heart attack."

Every member of SG-1 had a look of shock and worry on their faces.

"That's all we know right now, but General Carter's brother and Cassandra Fraiser are apparently making their way to the hospital to offer their support. General Landry suggested that you might want to join them."

"Indeed," Teal'c said, soberly.

"How's Sam?" Daniel asked almost instantly.

"As far as I know, she's trying to be strong for General O'Neill and Grace." Reynolds said, seriously.

They all nodded slowly.

"But I would imagine she could use your support as soon as you could possibly be there."

"Would you like us to debrief before or after..." Mitchell began.

"Go. Change you clothes and go. We can debrief afterwards unless you found something urgent."

Neill shook his head. "No. Nothing worth mentioning right now, sir."

"Well...get checked out by the infirmary, and then go."

They filed out of the Gate room, silently.

-

_Sam sat down in front of the computer terminal with a small sigh. With only a brief pause of hesitation, she began to type "Jack O'Neill" into the search engine. It took a few minutes of scanning through the results before she stopped as her blood ran coldly in her veins._

_She clicked on the eleven year old article, and instantly, the headline came into view: "USAF Colonel Commits Suicide After Son Dies in Accidental Shooting". Underneath the headline, beside the article, was a picture of a younger Jack in his dress blues._

_"Colonel Jack O'Neill, of the United States Air Force, was found dead in his home on Tuesday morning by his wife, Sara. The Colonel's eight-year-old son, Charlie, had accidentally shot himself with O'Neill's .9 mm handgun three weeks earlier..."_

_Sam tensed as she felt hot tears sting her eyes as her vision blurred so that she could not read the rest of the article. No wonder no one on the base had heard of him._

She shuddered involuntarily at the memory of the alternate reality she'd visited so many years before.

"Sam!" A voice cried, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Cassandra," Sam murmured as she stood to greet the young woman.

"How is he?"

"I don't know anything more than I told you on the phone," Sam mumbled, her mind clearly elsewhere.

"Oh, Sam," she whispered, wrapping her arms around the older woman.

"General," Mitchell greeted from behind them.

Sam pulled away from Cassandra to find SG-1. "I take it that you heard," she managed.

"Yes, we did," Daniel said, nodding. "How are you?"

"I'm...okay..." Sam said, trying to shrug nonchalantly. "Just...waiting, you know?"

They nodded soberly.

"Mommy?" Grace murmured from where she lay.

Sam turned and crouched on the ground beside her daughter, gently brushing her hair from her face. Her forehead was still warmer than she would have liked. "Hi, angel," she whispered, gently. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better," she admitted.

"Good." Sam said with a tender smile.

"How's Daddy?"

"The doctors are still taking care of him," she whispered, trying to be brave.

"He's going to be okay," Grace said with the childlike faith of innocence shining in her eyes. "I saw it."

Sam closed her eyes as she tried to withhold the currant of emotion from showing to her daughter as she gently kissed Grace's forehead. She managed to compose herself before pulling back. "Aunt Susan is going to take you to her house for tonight. Remember? They moved to Denver?"

Grace nodded slowly.

"I'm going to stay here with Daddy until he's feeling a little bit better. Then, the minute he can have visitors, I'll have Aunt Susan bring you back here, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy." She said as she sat back up.

"I love you, angel," Sam murmured as she wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged her tightly.

"I love you too, Mommy." She whispered, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck gently.

-

_"Jack?" She whispered from where she lay in his arms just hours after becoming his wife._

_"Hm?"_

_"I want you to know...in case I don't..." She swallowed down emotion. "In case I don't come back from..."_

_"Ack!" He interrupted, waving his hands. "Not today. We're not talking about this today."_

_"Jack..."_

_"Sam..."_

_"Look, you know what I do, and being the commander of a ship? That makes it so much more likely!"_

_"And I refuse to talk about how my brand-new wife could be killed when she leaves again for her command."_

_Sam sighed. "You have that luxury, Jack. Of thinking like that. I don't. I'm still in the field."_

_"Thanks for pointing that out."_

_"I just mean..." She began softly, on the verge of tears. "You're safer than I am. And I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'm always going to love you."_

_"I do." He said, gently forcing her to look at him. "I have for years."_

_"Right..." She whispered, blinking away the tears which had begun to fall._

_"And I'm going to be here for you. No matter what happens. Because I love you, Sam. I always will."_

"Mrs. O'Neill?" The doctor asked, walking into the waiting room.

Sam looked up as she stood. "Yes?"

"Your husband seems to be responding very well to our treatments." She said with a small smile. "He had some minor blockage in one of his arteries, so we did an angioplasty, but that's not surgery, and he's doing quite a bit better. We're still a little concerned about him, so we want to keep him for observation at least overnight, but we're cautiously optimistic about his recovery."

Sam laughed nervously as she closed her eyes in relief. "When can I see him?" She asked after a few moments.

"Not just yet. But I'll come and get you when he's ready for visitors."

"Thank you." Sam said, gratefully.

The doctor turned to leave, and Sam turned back to her friends and family. "He's...he's okay," she said as tears of gratitude welled up in her eyes.

"That's good to hear," Vala admitted from where she sat with Daniel, who was nodding his agreement.

"Yeah." Cassie said, nodding.

Teal'c looked at his friend silently before offering her the hug that she so desperately needed. "Thank you," she whispered as she clung to him for her much-needed support.

She pulled away from him before turning to everyone else in the room. "Thanks for being here, and waiting with me." She said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "It means a lot to me..."

"Mrs. O'Neill?" A voice interrupted.

She turned to find a nurse standing there. "Yes?"

"Your husband's ready to see you now."

Sam nodded, gratefully, before turning to the others in her company.

"Tell Jack we're thinking of him," Daniel said, softly.

She nodded, slowly. "I will."

She turned back and soberly followed the nurse to a small private room. She heard the familiar sounds of monitors and other medical machines as she stepped in the room. She turned the corner around the in-room bathroom before she was able to see her husband, lying against the sterile white linens of the hospital bed in his muted tone hospital gown.

"He's been given some pain medication and also some anesthetic for the angiogram and angioplasty, so he may not wake for a little while."

Sam nodded slowly as the nurse left the room. She turned back to look at her husband. For the first time since he'd artificially aged on Argos, he looked old and frail.

She swallowed as she took the few steps toward the chair by his bed. She sat down before reaching for his hand, holding it gently in her own. "Hi, Jack," she whispered as she looked up at his face. His eyes were closed in the peaceful sleep of medicated slumber. "You gave me quite a scare today," she said, trying to lighten the mood with a small chuckle as she let her eyes rest on his hand where she was absently running her thumb over the back of his hand. "But, uh...I guess you'll do anything to stay out of the limelight, huh?"

She felt tears well up in her eyes again. "You can't leave me alone, Jack," she whispered as a single tear slipped down her cheek. "I can't do this by myself. I can't raise Grace and run the base and have this baby all by myself." She brought his hand to her lips so that she could gently kiss it before she bowed her head, allowing her forehead to brush against the back of his hand. "Don't leave me, Jack," she begged.

"Never..."

She looked up to see Jack's waning, yet tender, smile.

"You're awake," she whispered from behind her tears. "The doctors said..."

"They lied." He teased gently.

She couldn't help but chuckle softly at his joke though the action caused her tears to fall more swiftly in her relief that he really would be okay.

"Hey...don't start that now," he admonished, weakly.

"I was so scared," she admitted as she leaned closer so that she could gently run her fingers through his hair. "So afraid I'd lost you."

"Couldn't lose me if you tried." He murmured as he curled his fingers around hers.

She gently kissed his knuckles before looking back at him. "I don't care what you say, if you want pizza from now on, you're eating my veggie pizza," she said, trying to be as lighthearted as he was.

He chuckled weakly before coughing gently.

"Can I get you something?"

"Water," he admitted.

The tray which carried a small pitcher of water and a cup was moved instantly toward them, and she shrugged. "I think Junior wanted to be helpful," she said, tenderly.

A small smile flitted onto Jack's face as she poured him a cup of water. She stood and sat on the bed beside him. "Here," she murmured as she brought the cup to his lips.

He took a small sip, gratefully.

She put the cup back on the tray as she heard his voice. "Sam?"

"Yes?" She asked, looking back at him.

"Thank you."

She raised an eyebrow curiously. "For what?"

"For paying attention in your field medical training." He said, tenderly. "How many times have you saved my life?"

She managed a small smile. "Don't kid yourself," she murmured, affectionately. "It was completely selfish on my part."

"How's Grace?"

"She's fine." Sam said, more soberly. "Mark had Susan take her to their house for the night. She'll be here to visit tomorrow. Assuming she doesn't still have a fever or anything like that."

Jack nodded, tiredly.

"You should rest," she fretted, stopping.

He shook his head. "No. I want to know...how's Junior?"

"Hungry even though I haven't felt much like eating," she said with a small smile as she looked down at her still flat stomach. "Mark brought me a sandwich, and he'd hardly put the plate in my face before it was in my hand."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"No one really saw except Mark, but I did have to promise an explanation."

"That should be easy," he murmured sarcastically.

Sam laughed softly. "Yes, well..."

"How are you?" He asked, more soberly.

Sam inhaled as she sobered as well. "I'm fine," she tried to assure him.

"Don't lie to me." He whispered, taking her hand in his. "How are you?"

Sam looked at him, soberly. "I'm still scared," she admitted. "I mean, you're not out of the woods yet...we still have a long way to go before you're recovered, and I don't think those reporters are going to help any..."

Jack placed a finger on her lips, and gently silenced her.

"What?" She asked after a few moments.

"C'mere," he whispered, opening his arms to her.

She shook her head. "No, Jack, I don't want..."

"You'll hurt me worse if you don't..." He said, soberly.

She nodded slowly before gently leaning down so that she could hug him gently.

"I love you, Sam." He whispered as he held her. "And it kills me to know how close I came to dying without reminding you recently."

"I love you too, Jack," she returned just as softly. "And no matter when it happens, you never have to worry about me not knowing how you feel. If anything, I didn't want anything to happen to you before I could tell you how much I loved you."

He kissed the exposed flesh of her neck, the part of her that was nearest his lips, before gently patting her back. "I knew how much you loved me. No matter what happened. I always knew."

She pulled away slightly so that he could see her smile, and then, she leaned down and kissed him gently. "Much better than mouth-to-mouth," she admitted with a sober twinkle in her eye.

He reached up and gently caressed her cheek. "For me too."

She smiled softly before pulling away and standing. "Now, can I get you a blanket? You seem cold. What about another drink of water? Or another pillow? I can get you another..."

"Sam."

She turned, looking at him from her frenzied pacing. "Yes?"

"I'm fine."

She inhaled and exhaled slowly before running her fingers over the hair which had fallen into his face. "Yes," she whispered softly. "You are."


	25. Recuperation

"Despite dozens of attempts to verify the validity of rumors that General Jack O'Neill suffered a heart attack yesterday morning, President-Elect Marks held a press conference," Julia Donovan announced over the morning news.

"Do you really have to watch that?" Sam asked from where she sat beside her husband's bedside drinking orange juice as she held his hand.

"What? I want to see what he's going to say!" Jack protested.

"You mean about his being the reason for your heart attack?" She asked, somewhat bitterly.

Jack looked over at her before turning his attention back to the television and squeezing her hand. "I love you."

The President-Elect, a man in his early fifties with salt and pepper hair, stood at a podium. "...General O'Neill has suffered a heart attack, in part, we believe, because of the excessive coverage of him and his family."

Sam's eyes widened as she studied the television screen.

"I know we're dealing with the right of free speech here, but one thing you need to know about Jack O'Neill is that he loves to be a man in the shadows. A man who does more good for this country than they even know, but who wants to be known as an average citizen. I would consider it a personal favor if any questions you have for the General were forwarded through my office."

Sam's brow furrowed, curiously, as she shared a look with her husband. "What the hell was that?"

"I think he was...apologizing..." Jack said, in wonder.

"It's a little late," Sam grumbled, still somewhat ill-at-ease with the President-Elect's words.

Jack looked at his wife before silently turning the television off.

"You didn't have to do that," she said after a moment.

He shrugged. "You're right. It's kind of counter-intuitive to listen to the news when we're trying so desperately to avoid being on it."

She offered him a small smile as she took a bite of the scrambled eggs which Teal'c had dropped off early this morning.

"Must you?" Jack asked, wrinkling his nose. "You know I love scrambled eggs and they're only letting me have a little bit of oatmeal."

She chuckled softly as she set the plate aside. "Sorry."

"Nah, you're okay." He winked. "Junior's hungry, right?"

"Starved." She admitted as she quickly finished up the last few bites of her eggs. "Although, I could go to the cafeteria and eat," she offered as she took a bite of her toast.

He waved her concern away. "I was just giving you a hard time."

She managed a small smile as she finished her toast.

"You really don't like Marks, do you?" He asked when she returned from throwing her empty breakfast plate away.

"Do you?" She asked, looking at him, seriously.

"I like him about as much as I like any politicians," he said, earnestly. "I mean, we got lucky with Hayes and his predecessor, but even there, it was bumpy. And Marks is like Kinsey in that he knew about the Program before his first day in office."

"I guess," she sighed.

He reached for her hand, and she offered it in the hopes that he wouldn't exert himself too much. "Sam, I know you lived through the kind of hell that I don't think anyone should ever have to live through, but...maybe the preparations that Henry Hayes, himself, has put into effect for this very day have made us a little more...ready for the news..."

She looked away.

"You really think no one deserves to know?" He asked after a moment.

"There are very few people I know that don't know," she began slowly. "Who I think could actually handle the truth."

He nodded, pensively. "But the number of people who know are growing every year. At first, it was just us. Then it was us and the NID. Then us, the NID, and the CIA..."

She nodded slowly.

"I won't promise that it will be perfect, but I think we'll be okay," he said with a gentle smile.

She looked down at her stomach, resting a hand on it as she thought for a few moments. "Maybe," she said, still somewhat reserved.

He opened his mouth to speak as a nurse walked in. "All right, Mr. O'Neill, we're going to run some tests. Standard procedure."

Sam turned a smile to the nurse before standing and gently kissing her husband. "I'll be back when you're through, okay?"

He nodded, though he was obviously unenthusiastic about the testing. "Yeah...when I'm finished being the human pin cushion."

She chuckled softly. "I'll kiss your pin pricks better when I come back."

"Woohoo," he murmured, rolling his eyes as she started her trip back out to the corridor.

With moist eyes, she gently pressed her fingers to her lips as she blew a kiss to him.

He nodded in understanding as she turned back toward the waiting room.

-

"Ancient forms of martial arts were perfect blends of aerobic and anaerobic exercise," Mark said as Sam approached where he and Teal'c sat in the waiting room. "I mean, it's almost ridiculous how much better shape we'd all be in if we..."

"General Carter," Teal'c interrupted as he greeted Sam.

She managed a small smile. "Hi, T." She looked over at her brother. "Hi, Mark."

"How's Jack doing?"

"A little better than he was last night when I went in to visit him." She said, seriously. "Still tired, but just energetic enough to be a pain in the neck patient."

Mark laughed softly as Teal'c's eyes showed his perfect understanding of what she was talking about.

She sighed as she sat down beside her brother. "From what the doctor said last night, he's probably going to be in here for at least another week."

"A week?" Mark asked, surprised.

She nodded. "Given the fact that his heart actually stopped and the amount of damage he probably sustained to the heart muscle itself, she thinks it's only prudent."

"I see."

"They're running some of the tests that they couldn't run until he was out of distress," she said, softly.

"How do you fare, General Carter?" Teal'c asked, soberly.

She exhaled slowly as she looked over at him. "I'm fine."

He raised his eyebrow, skeptically.

She sighed. "I mean..." She paused. "I, uh...I guess I just wish I could...push a button and heal him."

Teal'c nodded, hearing what she couldn't say in the public forum of the waiting room.

"If I found something, anything, that could just make him well again," she whispered, looking at her hands as she considered the unique position she was in to channel the remnants of Jolinar through the Tok'ra healing device to heal her husband. "Then, I would. I would do whatever it took to use it."

Mark looked at Teal'c as she stood again. "Excuse me, I need to call the base. Make sure everything's okay."

She walked past them, and Mark let his eyes follow his sister. "She works WAY too hard."

Teal'c let his gaze follow his friend before he nodded in agreement with her brother. "Indeed."

-

The urgent clack of heels down the corridors of the Academy Hospital alerted Sam to Carolyn Lam's presence.

"General," she greeted with cool professionalism. "How is General O'Neill?"

"He seems to be doing better," Sam admitted as she rose to meet the doctor. "The doctors have him in for some more tests."

Carolyn nodded. "General, may I speak with you in my office?"

Sam nodded slowly. "Of course."

She followed the doctor down a few corridors before they arrived at Janet Fraiser's old office. The memory of meeting Cassie in this room was almost too palpable for Sam to digest anything else that moment.

"I brought the healing device as you asked," she said, soberly.

Sam nodded, swallowing down the emotions which had fled to her as she had walked into the office. Memories she thought she'd dealt with in years of mandated therapy appointments with Dr. MacKenzie.

"But I have a few concerns." She said, frankly.

Sam nodded. "I assumed you would."

"General, first of all, you just told me that your husband is in a round of tests. The doctors are going to be very skeptical that his numbers could drastically change so quickly."

Sam swallowed. "We'll have to find a way to get in there before they've completed their tests."

"That's not going to be easy," Carolyn said, seriously. "But even if you managed to do it, which wouldn't surprise me by the way, I've got some serious concerns about whether or not you should use the healing device. With a symbiote, I wouldn't worry, but you're not a Tok'ra anymore, and you're in the middle of a high-risk pregnancy."

Sam inhaled. "And my husband is in a hospital bed fighting for his life," she whispered. "And I've had a number of high-stress things which have happened and not had any effect on this particular pregnancy." She closed her eyes. "Please..."

Carolyn sighed. "I'll see what I can do about getting you alone with him long enough to perform the actual healing. But after that, I want you in my office so that I can take a look at you."

Sam nodded. "Thank you."

-

Sam slipped, undetected, into her husband's room as Carolyn caught the nurses who were about to transport him to his testing site and distracted them.

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked, looking at his wife in surprise.

"I have an idea," she said, revealing the healing device in her hand.

He visibly paled. "Sam, are you kidding?"

"Just hear me out," she murmured, placing a finger on his lips. "This will help me sleep a little better at night, knowing that at least some of the damage done by your heart attack has been completely reversed."

"Yeah, and..." He began.

"Jack, please," she whispered.

He studied the earnestness in her eyes before nodding somewhat hesitantly. "Okay. Do your thing."

She nodded as she closed her eyes and activated the healing device. Memories of and from Jolinar whirled around in her head. The last night Jolinar and Martouf were together. Seeing and threatening Cassandra when she'd deduced that Sam carried a Tok'ra. Thoughts of taking the last shot at Martouf before he self-destructed. Lantesh's last words to her. The memories raced through her mind, inducing dizziness and nausea within her. It was nearly a minute later before the device deactivated and Sam faltered there beside her husband's bed.

"Sam..." he murmured, reaching out to steady her.

"I'm...fine..." She managed as she placed the healing device away and sunk into the chair beside his bed. "Just...I think I could use a bit of a nap."

Jack's worried eyes caught hers, and she smiled gently at his concern. "Carolyn said she'd take a look at me and the baby." She assured, returning slowly to normal. "We'll be fine." She leaned over and kissed him gently. "And so will you."

He sighed as he nodded. "All right..."

"Are you feeling any better?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Stronger."

"Good." She said with a faint smile. "Now...I've got to slip out before the nurses come back. I love you."

"Love you too," he said, watching her closely as she slipped out the door. He was married to an amazing, yet stubborn, woman. That much was certain.

-

"Well, General, you're both healthy," Carolyn pronounced in the privacy of her office. "Still, you look tired. I'm sure you didn't get the best sleep last night, given the circumstances..."

Sam nodded. That much was true.

"Why don't you take the couch right there, and rest for a little bit?" She offered. "That way, when Jack's finished with his tests, you'll still be here, but you'll get a better rest than you would on one of those metal chairs."

"Thank you," Sam murmured. Her symptoms weren't any worse than her morning sickness had been, but she'd just started to feel more energetic and less nauseated, and so the step backward was taking a toll on her emotions which had already been through the ringer in the last twenty-four hours.

"Let me know if you start notice any more serious symptoms," Carolyn said as she stepped out of the room.

"I will." Sam murmured as she lay down on the couch and closed her eyes.

-

Sam walked into her husband's hospital room a few hours later.

"Hey," Jack said, visibly tired from the number of tests that they'd run.

"Hi," she said as she walked in. She leaned over and kissed him gently before she sat on the edge of the bed beside him. "What'd they do? Make you run laps?" She stroked his hair gently as she studied him. "You look tired."

"I am tired," he admitted.

"That'd be a good reason to look that way," she murmured, affectionately.

He smiled in appreciation before he sobered. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Took a little nap in Carolyn's office, and I'm back on my game." She said with a smile. Her features sobered slightly, and she looked at him, worriedly. "What about you?"

"I could use a nap." He said, seriously. "They ran every test twice just to verify the results."

"I'm sorry," she said, softly.

He shrugged. "It is what it is."

"What was their main concern?"

"Apparently, there's no scar tissue in my heart. Which after an acute heart attack - you know, the kind where you go into cardiac arrest, like I did - that's virtually impossible."

"But if you don't have any scar tissue, why are you still feeling so tired?"

"Ah," Jack said, somewhat enthusiastically. "I have a theory on that."

"Oh?" She asked with a small chuckle.

He nodded. "The device does wonders for serious injuries that leave scar tissue, right?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"But...it doesn't necessarily replace things like physical therapy."

"Right." Sam said, following his logic.

"So, my heart is still damaged in that it's weak from the attack, but when I'm healed in the six to eight week timeframe that the doctors are giving me, I won't have any scar tissue which would keep my whole heart from functioning normally."

"I see," Sam said, her eyes widening in thought.

He shrugged. "In other words, I'm going to be like a bump on a log for six to eight weeks. Doing my exercises, taking naps, eating exactly what the doctor says I can eat..."'

"You're staying on that diet even after those six to eight weeks," Sam said, soberly.

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said with a small smile on his lips.

"General and Mrs. O'Neill," the doctor said, stepping into the room. "I'm Dr. Kate Vincent, the head of the cardiology staff here." She looked at Sam as she turned around. "We spoke last night regarding your husband's condition."

Sam nodded. "Yes, of course, Dr. Vincent."

The petite curly-haired brunette looked over at her patient. "How are you feeling General O'Neill?"

"Well enough to go home."

Sam turned an appreciative smile to him as she squeezed his hand in sympathy.

"Actually, sir, you're not that far off," the cardiologist admitted.

Sam looked at her in surprise. "Are you kidding?"

Dr. Vincent shook her head. "No. I'm still not sure how you managed it, but you had an acute myocardial infraction - a heart attack - and yet, even after going into and coming out of cardiac arrest, there's no sign of scar tissue in your heart. We'll give you some general guidelines to follow in an effort to speed up your recovery and to prevent you from having another heart attack."

"Sounds like a plan." Jack said, nodding.

"Now, I would like to see you periodically for the next six months. I like to make sure that my patients are adjusting fairly easily to post-heart attack life. We'll probably start with general restrictions which I would anticipate would only last for the next few weeks or so. Some of these are dietary, but others are more lifestyle changes. For instance, if you were a smoker, I'd recommend you to a program which could help you stop."

"I don't smoke." He said, earnestly.

"I didn't think you did." Dr. Vincent said with a smile. "But the other thing I would restrict is your alcohol intake."

"Not even beer?" Jack asked, almost mournfully.

"Sorry, General." She said, apologetically. "Not even beer. At least for the next few weeks."

"D'oh."

Sam chuckled softly at her husband's expense.

"The other thing I'm going to have to restrict pending more positive readings from your EKG," the doctor said, soberly. "Is sexual activity."

"Good thing I'm already pregnant," Sam teased, looking over at her husband, who managed an amused snort.

"I'd like you to take it easy for the next week. I'll have you come in to visit with me next week sometime, and then, we'll see if you're ready to start some light physical therapy."

"Physical therapy?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Yes," Dr. Vincent said, nodding. "Only because I want to make sure that you don't overdo it until your heart is strong again."

He nodded slowly. "Got it."

"How restricted should his level of activity be?" Sam asked, concerned.

"Over the next week? That's pretty much up to how he feels on any given day." She admitted. "I would highly discourage running or even jogging, but a light walk through a park should be fine. The biggest thing is to try to keep him relaxed." She looked at Jack. "Do things that you enjoy doing, but haven't had enough time to do lately. Go fishing, read a book, watch a movie, spend time with your daughter and your wife...anything that would keep your heart rate and blood pressure down is fair game in that first week."

"Fishing..." Jack murmured, contentedly.

Sam smiled as she looked back at the doctor. "Thanks."

"No problem." She said with a small smile. "I'll be sure to send you home with some brochures from the American Heart Association. They have some wonderful suggestions for heart-healthy cooking. There are also who knows how many cookbooks on how to be conscientious about eating well for your heart."

Sam nodded. "I'll make sure to pick a couple up."

"And congratulations on the baby," she said with a small smile.

Sam blushed, happily. "Thank you."

Dr. Vincent nodded before turning back to Jack. "And you...stop terrorizing my nurses..." She teased, good-naturedly.

He snapped his finger. "Rats."

Sam chuckled as she turned her attention back to him. "Relaxing, huh?"

"She said to do anything that I would enjoy."

"No, she said to do things that you enjoy that would also keep your heart rate and blood pressure down. Yelling at the nurses to give you jello or give you death would not fit into those categories." Sam teased, gently, as she fluffed the pillows behind his head.

"Spoil sport," he murmured with an affectionate smile on his lips.

"You said you're tired," she said, looking at him with a tender smile on her lips. "Rest. Get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

He reached for her hand. "Have I told you yet today how much I love you?"

"Not today." She said, softly.

"Well, I love you. More than life itself."

She gently caressed his cheek before she leaned down and kissed his lips softly. "I love you too, Jack. Now, get some sleep, okay?"

She sat down in the chair beside his bed, keeping watch over him as he finally allowed himself to drift off into sleep.


	26. Welcome Home

_She awoke to find herself in an unfamiliar white room with a pastel flower wallpaper trim where the wall met the ceiling. She lay on a hard hospital bed with white and tan sheets on it. She looked down at her wrist to find a hospital admittance band on it. On the other side, she found an IV. _

_Why was she in the hospital, she asked herself, curiously._

_She sat up, but the gentle stretch in her abdominal area caused her to wince in pain._

_"Good morning, Mrs. O'Neill!" A woman greeted in an abnormally cheerful voice as she backed into the room, pulling a wheeled cart of some sort behind her. "How are you feeling this morning?"_

_"Sore..." She admitted, watching the woman closely._

_"I'd imagine so," the woman said with a small smile on her lips as she easily turned the cart toward Sam. The cart was carrying a clear, hospital-issue baby bassinet, and inside it lay the most beautiful baby. Sam's lips parted in surprise as she looked at the baby._

_"I think he's hungry," the nurse said, reaching in and getting the baby so that Sam could hold and feed him._

_"Oh, he's so beautiful," she whispered as she held the baby in her arms, gently. She looked into his face, but the image of Jack's lifeless body against her living room floor flashed in her mind for a moment, causing her to grimace and close her eyes._

_When she opened them, she was standing in a room filled with people. She looked down to see her body, heavy with advanced pregnancy. She felt a tiny hand in her own, and she looked down to find Grace staring soberly at the podium of the church where Daniel had just taken his place._

_"General Jack O'Neill was more than just a hero to those of use who had the privilege of knowing him on a personal level," Daniel intoned. "He was a friend. In the truest sense of the word. He would be courageous enough to tell you the things you didn't want to hear while being willing to lighten the mood enough so that you could laugh about almost anything. In fact, I remember one time when..."_

_She tuned the archaeologist's voice out of her mind as she slowly took a few steps toward the open, polished cherry wood casket in front of her. Sure enough, she saw Jack's lifeless body, and she felt her body shake with the onset of her sobs. "No," she whimpered. "Please...not Jack..."_

_She felt strong arms wrap themselves around her, supporting her as she collapsed in her grief._

_"Sam," a voice whispered in her ear. "Sam, it's okay...I'm here."_

The sound of her soft sobs against the silence of the night woke her from her nightmare.

"Sh," her husband's voice whispered from where he held her tightly.

"Jack," she whispered, desperately clinging to him. It was the first night that he'd slept at home since his heart attack, and she was grateful for the simple comfort of his strong arms.

"It's me," he affirmed as he stroked her hair gently.

"I had such a terrible dream," she murmured as she closed her eyes and reminded herself that this was real.

"I figured. Wanna tell me about it?"

She inhaled as she held him and felt how real and warm he was. "I...I'd had the baby. And when I looked at him...all I could see was you. Dead. In a casket. At your funeral." She released another sob as buried her face in his shoulder with silent tears slipping down her cheeks. "I was in a room full of people, but I was all alone." She whimpered.

"Sh," he murmured as he tried to calm her down. "I'm here, Sam. I'm right here."

She pulled away from him so that she could face him. "I don't want to raise this baby by myself." She placed a hand on his cheek and gently traced the lines and curves of his face. "I can't take care of Grace and this baby by myself."

"You're not going to have to," he promised, soberly. "I'm here. Like I said, I'm not going anywhere."

She bit her lip vulnerably.

"See?" He said with a soft smile on his lips. "I'm still here. I'm real."

She nodded, rapidly, as she tried to blink away the tears which made her feel so foolish to be so afraid of a future which was more unlikely than likely.

He reached a hand over and tenderly wiped away the tears from her cheek. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'm sorry you had to be so scared for me. I wish that there was something I could do to make it up to you."

She rolled over as she pulled his arms around her so that she could rest the back of her head on his shoulder. "Just hold me," she whispered. "Just hold me and never let go."

"Always," he murmured before he kissed her cheek gently.

-

"Grace, Cassie," Sam called from the kitchen the next morning. "Breakfast time!"

Grace emerged from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes slowly. "G'morning," she murmured, sleepily, as she met her pajama-clad mother in the kitchen.

Sam tried to bite back a chuckle at her daughter's expense before she walked over and kissed the top of her head as she sat on one of the barstools at the island/bar. "Not ready to be awake yet, huh?"

"Uh uh." Grace said, shaking her head before she rested it on the countertop.

Sam smiled softly before turning back to the pot she had on the stove.

"Did I hear someone say something about breakfast?" Cassandra asked, appearing just as tiredly at the top of the stairs.

"Yes," Sam said, cheerfully, as she turned back to face her surrogate daughter. "Oatmeal."

"Oatmeal?" Cassie and Grace asked in unison with almost identical looks of disgust on their faces.

Sam tried to cover her laugh with a fake cough. "That's enough," she said, more seriously. "We're going to make some changes in the foods that we eat so that we can keep Jack from having another heart attack, okay?"

Grace sighed as she nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Think you can handle oatmeal for a couple of days?" Sam asked, winking at Cassandra.

"Aw, come on," Cassie laughed softly. "You know me. Anything that's good enough for Jack..."

Sam shook her head with a chuckle as Jack walked slowly out of the master bedroom, dressed in his sweat pants and an Air Force tee.

"Jack!" Sam cried, hurrying over to help him. "What are you doing out here?"

"I heard laughter and decided I needed to be a part of it," Jack said as Sam pulled his arm around her shoulder so that she could help to carry his weight.

"Jack, you really should be in bed," Cassandra said, sounding more like her mother than she had a moment ago. "Even with whatever...help...you got with your recovery, you had an acute myocardial infraction. That's not something to just ignore."

"Oh, would you just stop?" He groused. "I want to have breakfast with my family. I'll do what the doctor said and take a nap when I'm tired, but I'm fine now!"

Sam helped him into one of the bar chairs before she returned to serving breakfast.

"Let me guess..." Jack murmured. "Oatmeal. Again."

Sam tensed, though her back was turned to him. She swallowed all of her negative instincts and turned a cheery smile to him as she served him a bowl of the oatmeal, topped with fresh strawberries and a little brown sugar. "There was a time when you thought this was variety," she managed.

"Yeah. After eating fruit loops for who knows how many...loops..." He grumbled. "I'll have you know, I can eat eggs...okay, maybe only the whites, but..."

"I can make you an egg white omelet tomorrow morning if you'd like," she said, softly.

"No, it's fine." He sighed.

She turned to the refrigerator and retrieving the skim milk she'd had Cassie pick up on the way home from the hospital. "I thought you might like some milk," she offered as she gave him a gentle smile.

He looked at the milk at the milk for a moment before he shook his head. "I'm fine."

Sam bit the inside of her cheek as she turned and served two more bowls for Cassandra and Grace. "Bon appetit," she mumbled before turning back to serve herself a portion.

She slipped silently into the chair beside her husband's upon retrieving her own bowl, and proceeded to gently push the food around with her spoon.

Grace watched her mother for a few moments before shoveling an enthusiastic bite of the oatmeal into her own mouth. "Hm...this is good, Mom." She announced through a mouth full of oatmeal.

Sam looked over at her daughter and managed a grateful smile. "Thank you, angel. I'm glad you liked it."

"Is this steel-cut oatmeal?" Cassandra asked after finishing her first bite.

"Yes," Sam said, nodding. "It, uh...it's healthier and more flavorful than..."

Jack rolled his eyes, and Sam stopped. "Yes, it's steel-cut oatmeal," she finished lamely before taking a bite of her own oatmeal.

The awkward silence reigned for a few moments before Sam stood. "If you'll excuse me," she murmured before slipping away from the breakfast table and into the master bedroom.

Cassandra sighed as she watched Sam enter the room and close the door, then she turned back to her oatmeal. "Hurry and finish, Grace," she murmured. "And I'll teach you something I taught my dog when I was about your age."

Grace nodded silently as she continued to eat her oatmeal. Finally, she looked up at her father with her wide and innocent eyes. "Mommy didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Daddy," she whispered, softly. "She just wanted to help."

Jack sighed. "I know. I just...wish I didn't need any help right now."

"Come on," Cassie said, wrapping an arm around Grace's shoulders. "Let's go down to the den."

Grace nodded slowly. "Okay."

Jack sighed as they left. It was only a few moments before Sam returned to the kitchen, now dressed in jeans that Jack knew were getting a little too tight for her and a tunic which hid the problem to the rest of the world. Her hair was in a ponytail so that it wouldn't interfere with her work, and he could see in her eyes that she was in her "efficiency" mode. She reached for the bowls that Cassandra and Grace had left behind, and took them to the sink to soak for a few moments before she retrieved the gallon of milk and strawberries and returned them to the refrigerator.

"You gonna just ignore me?" Jack asked after a few moments.

"No." Sam said, succinctly, as she began to wash the dishes she'd dirtied in the process of making breakfast that morning.

He sighed. She was mad at him. She had good reason since she'd been nothing but nice and understanding, but it still grated on his nerves that she was upset at him. Didn't she know he'd been up for another few hours after she'd fallen asleep after her nightmare? Didn't she know how much he'd worried about whether or not she'd have everything in order in the case that he did die, and she needed to fill out the paperwork?

On the other hand, he thought to himself, did he realize how much effort she'd put into breakfast despite the fact that she probably hadn't felt much like cooking?

"The girls were right," he managed, swallowing his pride. "Breakfast was good. Thanks for making it."

She paused in her task, almost surprised to hear his words, before she returned to it again. "You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it."

"You got plans for the day?"

"No."

"You sure?" He asked, trying to coax a smile out of her. "Cuz you look awfully nice to stay here at home with your grouchy husband."

She stopped what she was doing, turned off the water, and turned to face him. "I understand how you must feel," she said after a moment. "I know you like to be completely independent, and you hate the idea of being vulnerable, but..." She inhaled and exhaled slowly as she felt the emotion she'd carefully tucked away while she'd gotten dressed in the bedroom slip out of its cage. "I need you to let me take care of you. Even if it's just for a little while. I just...I need to be here, to spend time with you and Grace, so that I can remember that this is the reality. And that..."

She swallowed down her emotion. "And that the visions of you lying on our living room floor as I resuscitated you, um..." She blinked away a few tears. "That that's the nightmare." She inhaled and exhaled. "And if...if you can't handle that right now...then, I guess I'll just have to deal with it."

"Sam..."

"I have to finish the dishes," she whispered, unable to stop the tears from coming as she turned back to the sink.

Exercising caution as he prepared to make his way over to her, he stood and held onto the countertop for balance as he came up to her and gently helped her turn around. "C'mere," he murmured as he wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders.

Her hands were on her face as she tried to hide her tears from him.

"You're right," he admitted as he held her. "I don't like to be vulnerable, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. You were just trying to help."

"I don't ever want to see you like that again," she whispered as she shifted in such a way so that she could move her hands to return the embrace. "And maybe it's annoying, but..."

"It is annoying," he said with a tiny laugh. "But I know you're just trying to say how much you love me."

She pulled away and wiped her eyes with her right forefinger. "Wow...I don't think I've cried this much in a twenty-four hour period since I was..." She paused, unable to grasp a time when she'd ever been so weepy. "Nope. Never. Never been this weepy."

He chuckled softly. "You're just being pregnant, honey."

She closed her eyes and laughed at his point. "True."

"And you've been through a lot over the last twenty-four hours." He acknowledged.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. That's true too."

"Hey, why don't you take Cassie and Grace out shopping?" Jack suggested. "Invite Vala, and you can send Daniel, Teal'c, and Mitchell to keep an eye on me."

"I don't..." Sam said, grimacing uncomfortably at the thought of leaving Jack with anyone besides herself.

"Or I can see if Daniel still has that wheelchair from when he broke both of his legs..."

Her brow furrowed as she helped him back to his chair. "When did he do that?"

"Oh...right...you must have been on Atlantis..."

"Must have been," she agreed with her blue eyes twinkling. "How did he break both of his legs?"

"Uh..." Jack said, biting his lip. "Well, you know Danny..."

"Almost as well as I know you," she said with a small chuckle.

"And you know how prone he is to disaster..."

"He's just a little more prone disaster than you are to getting shot." She teased as she sat beside him at the countertop.

"Oh, thanks," he laughed, good-naturedly.

"So, what happened?"

"Well, SG-1 apparently went on a mission and even though there wasn't a living thing to be found on the planet, he managed to fall down a ravine and return through the Gate with two broken legs and a concussion."

She winced. "Ouch."

"Yeah." Jack said, nodding. "Anyway...back to why I even mentioned it in the first place..."

"Yes." Sam said, returning her mind to the first train of thought.

"I figured that I could go along with you girls to the mall in the wheelchair."

"You want to go shopping?" Sam asked, absolutely surprised.

"No." He said, shaking his head. "I want you to relax, and I know you won't if you're worried about what I'm doing, so I'll go with you if you want."

She grinned before she leaned forward and kissed him, gently. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yep." He preened, proudly.

"I do need some maternity clothes," she admitted, pulling back as she pulled the tunic down from where it had gathered at the top of her newly visible "baby bump".

"Have you told Cassie yet?" Jack asked, looking up at her.

"Told me what?" Cassie asked, walking into the kitchen, now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

Sam chuckled softly as she looked at Jack. "Not yet," she admitted.

"Oh. Whoops!" He laughed.

She shook her head with a chuckle as Grace appeared a few steps behind Cassandra, also fully dressed. "You mean you haven't told Cassandra about the baby?" She asked, surprised.

"Baby?" Cassie squealed.

Sam grinned as she nodded. "Yeah."

Cassandra screamed as she hurried over to hug Sam, who couldn't help but chuckle at the young woman's enthusiasm. "How far along are you?"  
"Just a little more than twelve weeks." Sam said, pressing her shirt against her very subtly curved stomach.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to," Sam admitted. "I just...between the plans to go wedding dress shopping, your classes, and my hectic schedule at work, I didn't get a chance."

"And we only found out earlier this week."

"Oh? How did Grace know?" Cassie asked, looking over at the little girl.

Sam looked at her husband, confused. "Did you tell her?"

He shook his head. "No. I thought you'd told her."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Grace sighed, theatrically. "I have dreams!"

"Dreams?" Cassandra asked, surprised.

Sam tensed. "Uh...there are probably a few things we should tell you about our family..."

Cassie's brow furrowed as she looked at Jack, who nodded in confirmation.

"What kinds of things?" She asked after a few moments.

"Well...first of all..." Sam began.

"Grace can see the future."

Cassie's eyes widened as she looked at the little girl.

"She knew about Doc before you gave him to her." Sam offered as an explanation. "She was pestering us on the ride up to the cabin about whether or not we'd let her keep a dog if she received one for a gift..."

"Cool!" Cassie said, grinning as she looked back at Grace.

"It has its usefulness," Sam admitted with a small smile.

"What else?" Cassie asked, looking back at Sam.

Sam bit her lip before she held out her hand. Cassie's brow furrowed as she studied Sam, closely.

The spoon that Jack had used for his oatmeal flew through the air to her hand.

"Whoa!" Cassie breathed as she released the air from her lungs in surprise.

"Yeah." Sam said, biting her lip, nervously. "Not exactly the kind of thing we want to advertise."

"Wh-when did this happen?" Cassie asked, looking at Jack and then back at Sam.

Sam coughed, uncomfortably.

"What?" She asked, curiously.

"About the time she got pregnant," Jack said, softly.

"Oh boy."

"You said it."

"Jacob could move things with his mind," Grace said, approaching the group of adults.

Sam looked at her daughter in surprise. "The baby brother in your vision..."

Grace nodded. "Yep. Only he wasn't a baby. He was in school."

"What happened in your vision?" Jack asked, curiously.

"Jacob was sitting in school, playing with his pencil...he kind of twirled it around in his fingers, but it was really with his brain and not with his fingers..." She began. "Anyway, his teacher came in and turned on the television in his classroom. "She said there was something important on the news."

Sam raised an eyebrow as she shared a concerned look with her husband who shrugged. "What was on the news, angel?" Sam asked, looking at Grace.

"Dad was on the news. So were you, Mom. And Uncle Daniel, and Uncle Teal'c."

Sam swallowed. "Oh?"

"They were talking about where you work, Mom." She said, eyeing Cassie somewhat warily. "You know...that place...with the ring..."

Sam inhaled sharply before looking at her husband.

"Grace, honey, you know you probably shouldn't talk about that with anyone at school, right?" He asked, reaching for his daughter.

"Yeah." She said, nodding seriously. "It's a secret. But in the dream, they used the word declassifi...declassific..."

"Declassified." Sam finished.

"Yep."

"You think they're going to unveil the program?" Cassie asked, looking between Jack and Sam.

"With this new president?" Sam asked with a small sigh. "I'd think it was more of a question of "when" than "if"."

"Oh boy."

"Wait," Grace interrupted. "You know what they do?"

Cassie nodded slowly. "Grace, I...I didn't grow up in Toronto..."

Grace looked over at her mother, who nodded slowly.

"Then where?"

"Your dad, Uncle Teal'c, Uncle Daniel, and I saved her." Sam said, soberly.

"Oh." She said, softly.

"Look, why don't we table this discussion for later tonight," Jack interrupted, tenderly rubbing Grace's arms. "Why don't I call Danny, and see if he's still got that wheelchair, and if he does, we'll go shopping, okay?"

Sam nodded her assent.

"Here," Cassie said, retrieving the cordless phone from the counter.

"Thanks," he said, gratefully.

"Maybe while you're here we can check a few of the boutiques in the area for a wedding dress," Sam said, looking up at Cassandra.

"Uh...sure...maybe." Cassie said, nodding slowly.

Sam's brow furrowed at the young woman's hesitation. Cassandra sounded too much like Sam had sounded when working on the preparations for her wedding to Pete. She'd have to take Cassie aside sometime while she was here, and find out what was going on.

"Okay, campers," Jack said, getting off the phone as he looked around him. "Here's the deal. Vala's not feeling well today, so Danny's out and so's Vala, but he does have that wheelchair, so we can go and pick it up before going to the mall. Whaddaya think?"

"Sounds fun." Sam said with a small smile.

"To me too." Cassie said, nodding absently.

"Me three." Grace grinned.

"Great. Then, I'll get dressed, and we'll go." He said, standing.

"Let me help you," Sam said as she stood as well.

She received a small nod from her husband.

"We'll be out in a few minutes." She said, looking over at Cassandra and Grace.

"We'll be waiting." Cassandra said, retrieving the last few dirty dishes from the counter before setting them in the sink.

-

"What's up?" Jack asked as Sam closed the door.

"I'm worried about Cassandra." She admitted.

"Oh?" He asked, surprised.

She nodded. "Did you hear her tone when I asked her about whether or not she wanted to look for a wedding dress here?"

"That's probably just the fact that she'd have to fly out for fittings and stuff," Jack said, slipping his shirt off.

Sam grimaced as she reached into his closet for an appropriate outfit. "As someone who broke off two engagements because he "wasn't the right guy"," she said, uneasily. "I didn't hear that this was inconvenient. I heard doubt."

"So you think she doesn't love him?" Jack asked, accepting the clothes which she'd picked out for him.

"No." She said, shaking her head. "I really loved Pete, but...he wasn't "the one"...you were. So, I'm sure she loves him. I mean, she wouldn't even have considered marrying him if she didn't..."

"But..."

"But...I don't know." She admitted.

"Watch out world," he teased, gently.

She turned a pointed look to him before she shook her head with a chuckle. "Come on. Let's get shopping."

"Woohoo," he murmured, miming waving a flag in mock enthusiasm.

"You missed your calling in life, Jack," she snickered. "You should have been a clown."

"Are you kidding?" Jack asked, shuddered. "Not if I have to squeeze into that little car!"

"Suddenly claustrophobic, huh?"

"Nope. Just have a healthy respect for wide, open spaces."

"Come on," Sam giggled. "The girls are waiting..."

"Hang on," he protested. "Gotta get my shoes on."

"Ready?" She asked after patiently waiting for him to choose and put his shoes.

"Almost."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He nodded as he leaned in to kiss her gently. "Now, I'm ready."

She grinned. "Come on. Let's go."


	27. Doubts

"Sam?" Cassandra asked as she knocked on Sam's dressing room.

"Yeah?" She asked, through the door.

"Jack wanted me to tell you that he and Grace decided to go to Payless. Apparently, Grace says her shoes are too small."

"Yeah, I was going to take her there when I had an hour or two," Sam admitted.

"Well, apparently maternity clothes aren't Jack's specialty," Cassandra chuckled softly.

"Well, he made it through an hour," Sam smiled as she opened the door to the dressing room. "That's all I can expect, I suppose," she chuckled softly, dressed in a maternity dark-washed denim skirt and a lavendar empire-waisted maternity sweater. "How about this?"

"I like it." Cassandra said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Good. I do too, and Jack likes it when I wear denim." Sam said, looking at herself in the mirror before she let her eyes wander back toward the young woman who was now playing with her engagement ring. "Missing Cameron?" Sam asked, innocently.

"Huh?" Cassandra asked, looking up again.

"Your fiance. Are you missing him?" Sam asked, motioning gently to the ring on her finger.

"Oh." Cassie said with a small sigh. "Uh...yeah. He's on a business trip..."

"Oh?" Sam asked, closing the door so that she could change into another outfit. "Where's he go?"

"Uh...New York, I think."

"City?"

"Yep."

"What's out there?"

Cassie sighed. "A job...maybe..."

There was silence for a few moments before Sam opened the door again to get a look at Cassie's face. "A job?" She asked, now dressed in khaki pants with the same sweater as earlier.

"Cute pants." Cassie said, trying to change the subject.

"Thanks." Sam said, looking down for a moment before looking back at Cassandra. "He's looking for a job in New York City?"

"He's not looking for one, but one of the firms there heard about his work with the law firm he's with right now, and they were impressed enough to invite him up to talk to them about a job."

"How do you feel about that?" Sam asked, studying her closely.

"I think it's a great opportunity for him." She said, carefully guarded in her response.

Sam raised an eyebrow before closing the door again. "I'll be out in a minute. I think I've got everything for the time being."

She opened the door a few moments later, her arms laden with clothes for the next several months. "Okay...here we go."

Cassie reached for some of the items so that she could help Sam carry them to the counter.

"Thanks," Sam said, offering her a small smile as they reached the sales girl.

"Find everything you were looking for?" The cashier asked with a kind smile.

"And more," Sam chuckled softly. "My husband's probably going to have a few words about how much I'm spending today."

The sales girl laughed appreciatively.

The transaction was rung up rather quickly before Sam and Cassie walked out of the store with a couple of bags in their hands.

"Come on," Sam said, motioning to the Orange Julius just a few stores down the corridor. "Let's give Jack a few more minutes with Grace. Probably a welcome change from having people fretting over him."

"Okay." Cassandra said, shrugging.

Sam got herself a small smoothie as Cassandra waved her hand. "I'm not hungry," she admitted.

"Okay." Sam said, finishing the transaction before walking with Cassandra over to one of the benches nearby. "What would the move to New York mean for you?" Sam asked, soberly.

Cassandra inhaled. "Well...it would mean I'd have to look for a residency in the area."

"Wouldn't be too hard," Sam said, logically. "I'm sure they have a lot of hospitals there."

Cassie swallowed. "I, uh...I actually already had a place where I wanted to do my residency."

"Oh?" Sam asked, looking over at her.

"The Air Force Academy Hospital." She murmured, looking down at the bags in her hands.

"I see." Sam said, softly.

"When I first went to college, it took some convincing, but I told my mom that I wanted to do the Air Force college reimbursement thing."

"It's a good program." Sam agreed.

"When I knew for sure that I wanted to be a doctor, I contacted the Air Force and let them know that I'd be extending my college for at least another four years so that I could get a medical license."

Sam nodded, following the story.

"I know there are no promises, but I want to...finish the work that my mom started." She said with a small sigh. "Preferably for the Program, given my particular history, but..."

"There are no promises," Sam said in understanding.

"Exactly."

"Does Cameron know?"

"About my Air Force commitment?" She asked, curiously. "Yeah. Of course."

"No," Sam said, shaking her head. "Does he know?"

Cassandra tensed. "I don't think he'd understand." She admitted after a few moments. "It's hard enough for him to understand how someone from Toronto could want to come here and be adopted by an Air Force doctor."

"I see." Sam said, softly.

"It's probably just pre-wedding jitters," Cassie said, shrugging. "We'll figure it out."

Sam bit the inside of her cheek for a moment. "I had the hardest time bringing Pete to meet my dad," she admitted, breaking through the silence.

"Really?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. So, I invited Pete to the base and didn't tell him anything before he walked into my dad's quarters and met my dad." She chuckled softly. "It was the worst first impression that ANYBODY has ever given my dad."

Cassie chuckled softly. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad..."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "He asked my dad if it was true that he had one of those "things" inside him."

"Oh no!" Cassie cried, utterly mortified for Sam's former fiance.

"Oh yes." Sam said, nodding. "And then, he said it must "freak you right out sometimes"."

Cassie winced slightly.

"My dad wasn't too fond of him." Sam chuckled softly. "Especially when he tried to call him "Dad". I kid you not, he said: "Not yet. You have to actually marry my daughter before you can call me that." I was mortified."

"Wait...hadn't Jack called your dad "Dad" a few times?"

"That was one of the reasons I was mortified." Sam said, nodding. "Especially after my dad gave me the "Is this the best you could find?" look."  
Cassandra shook her head with a small laugh.

"Even after Pete had met my dad, I still wasn't too excited about the wedding preparations," Sam said, more soberly. "I had an appointment to look at flowers for the wedding with Pete, and there was some emergency on the base. Pete called my cell, and then, he called the base." She inhaled slowly. "When I got off the phone, and Jack asked if everything was all right, and my dad took the opportunity to remind me with a smirk on his lips that I was supposed to meet Pete at the florist for the wedding...I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. And when I saw Jack's cheerful declaration to "go pick flowers!", I wanted to die."

Cassie inhaled slowly.

Sam looked at her, biting the inside of her cheek. "But it wasn't until Pete showed me the house he'd bought for us to live in that I realized that I didn't see myself growing old with him." Sam chuckled softly. "He actually ran toward the house and told me that the dog would love the backyard, and in that moment, I guess I thought of that memory I had of you."

Cassie's brow furrowed.

"When you pronounced that Jack had told you that it was a rule that every kid was supposed to have a dog," she said with an affectionate smile. "I just remembered looking up at him almost incredulously, and he just shrugged." A tender smile graced her lips at the memory. "That shrug and how well he got along with you told me in the deepest parts of my heart that I'd fallen in love with him even though I pushed it away for so long."

"When did you decide to give it a try?" Cassandra asked, unable to keep from asking the question she'd always wondered about.

Sam managed a sad smile. "After Pete showed me the house." She admitted.

"What?"

"I didn't finish my story," Sam said with a pensive look in her eye. "Pete dropped me off at my house, and I couldn't go inside. I waited for a little while until he'd driven off, and then I got into my car. Before I knew it, I was at Jack's house, trying to gather up the courage to tell him how I felt about him."

"But?"

"There was a woman. At his house." Sam sighed, softly. "And the reality of what I'd been about to do hit me. Then, I got the call that my dad was sick." She shrugged. "By the time my dad died, I'd broken up with Pete, Jack had broken up with Kerry, and we had plans to go fishing."

"That's fast."

Sam smiled faintly. "It was eight years in the making. And even my dad could see how I felt about him."

"Oh?"

Sam nodded. "Some of his last words to me were about not letting rules get in my way of finding happiness."

"Wow."

"We talked about getting together at the cabin for a little while, but it was still somewhat...tentative since we were still in the same chain of command, and not sure we were willing to give up our careers for something that might or might not work out. Anyway, I guess all we'd figured out was that we weren't going to be happy with anyone else." Sam patted Cassandra's hand. "Just after that trip was when I got the call that you'd been in an accident."

"And the rest is history," she finished.

Sam nodded. "Cassie, I'm not telling you this to change your mind about marrying Cameron. I think he's a great guy who loves you, and if you really want to marry him, then by all means, do it. But I do want you to know that while having doubts is normal, not wanting to shop for a wedding dress isn't."

Cassie tensed slightly as Sam reached over and hugged her. "I wish your mom was here. She was better at these things than I am," she admitted. "But know that Jack and I are here for you. Wedding or no wedding, you'll never be able to shake us."

Cassie chuckled softly as a handful of silent tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Leave them alone for five minutes, and they start crying," Jack teased as he and Grace approached them.

Sam pulled away as Cassie wiped at her cheeks. "Sorry, Jack. Wasn't expecting you." Cassie murmured with a nervous laugh.

"Did you buy the whole store?" Jack asked, gaping at the number of bags at the women's feet.

"I do need a wardrobe for the next six months or so," Sam said, looking at her husband, seriously.

"Yes, but all you need for a wardrobe is two pairs of jeans, five shirts, a pair of khakis, and like...three sweaters. That's a whole week's worth of clothes right there!"

Sam shook her head. "That works for you, Jack." She said, affectionately. "But let's face it, you only wear jeans, white tee-shirts, and leather jackets."

"Hey, I'll have you know I have khakis, a dress uniform or two, and a tie."

Sam shook her head with a laugh as she stood. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm tired, and it's about time for your meds."

"You remembered that?" He asked with a grimace.

"Yep." She said, nodding.

"Come on, Dad." Grace said, eagerly pushing the wheelchair toward the exit.

"Hey!" Sam said, stopping her daughter in her tracks. "I want to see your new shoes."

Grace bit the inside of her cheek as she handed the small sack to her mother.

"Converse?!" Sam asked, looking at Jack in surprise.

"They're cool," Jack said, looking at his wife and then back at his daughter.

Grace nodded, rapidly.

"And fifty dollars a pair, Jack." Sam said, raising an eyebrow.

"Then, it's a good thing that they're not Converse."

"Oh?" Sam asked, eyeing her husband expectantly. "And they are?"

"They're just the Payless version of them. Look almost exactly the same, don't you think?" He grinned proudly.

"And how much were the knock-offs?" Sam asked, expectantly.

"Twenty."

Sam eyed Jack and then eyed Grace who had her eyes closed and her hands clasped together as if in prayer.

"Well, she did need a new pair of shoes..." Sam said with a faint smile.

"Yes!" Grace cried in a hushed tone as she pulled her elbow toward her in a victory move.

Sam laughed as she wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulder. "Come on, angel, let's go home."

-

"Sam?" Jack whispered from where they lay in bed together that night.

"Yes?" She asked, looking over at him.

"What'd you think when Grace was telling you about her vision?"

She paused for a moment before inhaling. "I have to admit that I'm not too thrilled about the prospect."

"Me either."

"But I know a wise man who told me something I needed to hear." She said, reaching over and clasping his hand into her own.

"Oh? What'd Teal'c tell you this time?" Jack teased.

She chuckled softly. "Not Teal'c." She said, shaking her head.

"Well, most of what Danny says can be ignored," he winked. "So it couldn't be him."

"Would you be serious?" Sam asked with a small giggle in her voice.

"Not if you keep giggling."

"Oh, are you going to order me not to giggle again?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Never." He murmured, gently kissing her cheek.

"Anyway..." She coughed. "Back to what I was saying..."

"Yes. The wise man..."

"He said that he wouldn't promise that it would be perfect, but that he thought we'd be okay," she said, looking at him tenderly.

"Sounds like the blissful abyss of pain meds to me," Jack grumbled playfully.

Sam laughed softly, burying her face in his shoulder for a moment.

"What do you think?" Jack asked after another moment.

She looked up at him, seriously. "I think he was right."

"So, I should just kiss the whole secretary of defense thing good-bye?"

"If you want to." She said, earnestly. "But if you want to take the position, I'll support you."

"Nah." He said, shaking his head. "I mean, it would be nice to have a jet at my disposal whenever I want, but..."

"But you wouldn't risk our children's psychological health to get that," Sam supplied with an amused smile.

"Exactly."

She kissed his shoulder as she cuddled closer to him. "I love you, Jack."

"Not as much as I love you, Mrs. O'Neill." He said, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her yet closer.

"I talked to Cassie..." She said after a moment.

"I thought so," he said, slowly.

"What gave it away?" Sam asked, wryly.

"Tears. You two don't cry together much."

Sam nodded, thoughtfully.

"What'd she say?"

"That he's on a business trip, looking at an offer from a New York City law firm."

"Wow."

"Yep."

"What does she think about it?"

"Well, she doesn't want to go to New York City." Sam said, softly. "She wants to come here for her residency."

"Seriously?" Jack asked, surprised.

"She wants to finish her mother's work."

"Ah."

"And I think with references from you, Daniel, Teal'c, and me, we could get her there."

"You're the one who'd hire her at the infirmary," Jack said, practically.

"Yeah, but..."

"You don't want to influence her career so overtly."

She bit her lip. "I just keep remembering how I felt when my dad told me that NASA was waiting for my call."

"He did it because he loved you."

"I know." Sam said, seriously. "But...I needed to do it on my own."

"I know."

"I don't want to do something here that I'll regret later..."

"Like refuse to help her fulfill her dream if she asks you or interfere where you're not wanted?"

"Exactly."

"Ask her what she wants you to do. Then, do what she wants."

Sam nodded. "Okay."

"She loves you, Sam." Jack said, soothingly. "She's going to see whatever you do as a sign of how much you love her. And she's probably hesitant to decide what she wants you to do until she figures out how she feels about Cameron's job offer."

"True."

"What did you tell her about that, by the way?"

Sam inhaled. "I told her that having doubts was normal, but not wanting to shop for a wedding dress wasn't."

"That's true." Jack said, seriously.

Sam smiled softly. "That's how I knew I didn't want to marry Pete, by the way."

"Oh? You didn't want to shop for a wedding dress?"

"No, that's not it." Sam said, shaking her head. "It was the florist appointment that my dad reminded me of in the briefing room."

"Oh...right..."

Sam chuckled softly. "Feels like it was ages ago," she said after a moment.

"Yes, well, any time spent with your dad felt like an eternity," Jack teased, gently.

Sam laughed at the thought. "And he liked you."

"Do you remember that whole "We're not gonna make it" thing?" Jack asked, after a moment.

"How could I forget?" Sam asked, casting her mind back in time.

"And I was obnoxious and rubbed his nose in the fact that he'd been wrong, and he retorted with something about ruining his last chance to be right?"

Sam snorted. "And I walked by you and just mumbled something about "welcome to my life" or something like that."

"Yep." Jack grinned.

"God, I miss him," she murmured after their laughter died down.

"He loved you very much," Jack said, running a hand up and down her arm gently.

"In his own way," she said, nodding. "Yeah. He did."

Jack was quiet for a moment, thinking as he held her. "Sam?" He asked, softly.

"Hm?"

"If we do have a boy..."

"Yeah?"

"I think it would be nice to name him after your dad."

"I'd like that," she admitted, quietly.

"Good."

"And if we have a girl?"

"We'll think of something."

Sam chuckled softly. "Let's admit it, we're both thinking this is going to be a boy."

"Well, Grace hasn't had a vision which was that far off," Jack admitted.

"I know."

"We'll think up girls' names just in case."

"Sounds like a plan," she yawned.

"Now...sleep. Like the doctor ordered."

"That was your doctor, Jack."

"Yes, but I don't think your doctor would think you're excempt from this one," Jack winked as he tightened his hold on her as he closed his eyes.

"Probably not," she murmured, affectionately as she closed her eyes.

"Good night, Sam."

"Good night, Jack."


	28. Off the Hook

Sam sat at the kitchen island, the phone lying next to her as she studied the calendar.

"Whatcha doin'?" Jack asked, looking at his wife as he slowly approached her.

"Oh, Jack..." She cried, surprised.

"You were expecting someone else?" Jack teased as he sat beside her.

She chuckled softly. "No. You just startled me. That's all."

"Ah." He said with a faint smile as he looked at the papers in front of her. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Scheduling."

"Ew." Jack murmured, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

She laughed softly. "Dr. Vincent called to schedule your appointment for next week."

"Oh. When is that?"

"Thursday at one-thirty."

"Excellent."

"But just after she called, Carolyn Lam called."

"And?"

"And she has an obstetrician she'd like us to meet."

"Right."

"They're both at the Academy Hospital, but I figured we'd want to have our first appointments on different days, so the obstetrician is Wednesday at one-thirty."

"Same time?"

"I figured it would be best not to confuse us with different times," she smiled.

"Ah. Good thinking."

"Both appointments shouldn't last much longer than an hour or two, they told me, so we should still be able to pick Grace up from school on both days."

"Excellent!"

She smiled softly before looking back down at the calendar, seriously. "And we need to take Cassandra to the airport tomorrow. That's at nine so that she can make her twelve-thirty flight. So, we'll have to drop Grace off on the way to Denver."

"Can do."

The phone rang, and Sam put down her pen and reached for it. "Hello?"

She straightened almost instantly. "Mr. President-Elect," she said, throwing a glance to her husband. "We've been expecting your call."

Jack sighed nonverbally.

"Yes, sir, he's doing much better." She said, after a brief pause on her part. She stopped again, this time nodding as she responded. "We appreciated your call to the reporters. We've had the occasional tabloid reporter, but for the most part, our lawn is clear."

She listened for a few moments before nodding. "Of course, sir. I'll put him on the phone. Thank you for your concern."

She offered the phone to her husband before she placed her hand over the microphone. "He wants a word with you."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Great," he mumbled as he accepted the phone. "Mr. President-Elect!" He greeted, forcing a smile to his lips. He was silent for a few moments before he brightened. "I'm glad you feel that way. I was just talking to my wife about the same thing."

Sam's brow furrowed.

"Yes, sir, I'll do that." He said as he hung up the phone. "He's got another person for the position!"

"Oh?" Sam asked, blinking in surprise.

"Yep. He said he didn't really have the luxury of waiting until I was rehabilitated after this heart attack, and so he was going to keep the guy from Hayes's administration."

"Seriously?" Sam asked, shocked.

"That's what he said." Jack said, shrugging.

She sighed. "Well, maybe that's a good thing."

"What do you mean? Of course it's a good thing."

"No," Sam said, shaking her head. "I know it's a good thing for us, but I guess he may have realized it was a losing battle."

"Losing battle?" Jack asked, perplexed.

Sam grimaced. "That didn't sound like what I wanted to say..."

"Fast forward to the part where you tell me what you're really trying to say." Jack said, running his index fingers around in a circle as if to motion for her to hurry it along.

"I just meant that he probably didn't want anyone to address questions about you and me."

Jack looked skeptical.

"Look, I think by now, anyone who would take a look at you would have seen the news and known that I was your wife."

"Yes."

"And anyone on the Senate confirmation committee would have access to your file."

"I guess..."

"Which, first of all, would necessitate a briefing on the SGC."

"Okay."

"And a briefing on the SGC and SG-1, in particular, would lead to the conclusion that you and I were on the same team together for seven years."

"All true."

"Yes, but what it might also infer, regardless of the facts, is that we'd been having an affair long before you were transferred to the Pentagon, and I took over Research and Development at Area 51."

"Oh." Jack said with sudden understanding.

"I think President-Elect Marks realized he was playing with fire there."

"I guess."

"And if that wasn't enough, after a briefing on the SGC and our many mission files, some members of the Senate committee might be afraid that you're actually you."

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, after who knows how many years of alien influence, they might be afraid that you're some sort of...alien."

"But I'm not."

"I know you're not," she said, affectionately. "At least, you're not anymore alien than I am, considering the fact that we've both hosted Tok'ra sym..."

"Ack!" Jack cried, throwing up his hands in protest. "I told you never to talk about that ever again."

"Okay, what about when Hathor..."

"Or that."

"Jack, I'm really not trying to rehash every bad thing that's ever happened to you, but I think President-Elect Marks realized you wouldn't be the best for his image."

"Oh, and you would be?"

"He hasn't asked me." Sam said, soberly. "And even if he did, he'd have the same problems with me that he would have with you. I mean, the supposed affair, the alien influence...it all comes back on me too."

"Right." Jack said, brightening.

She rolled her eyes. "Who knew that coming this close to an investigation into how we divided our personal and professional lives back then could be of such pleasure?"

Jack chuckled. "Hey, the important thing is that he's not bothering us anymore."

"That's true." She said with a small nod.

"You know what this means, right?"

"What does this mean?" She asked, looking over at him.

"That you don't have to retire. I can hand over the whole training thing to whoever they've got replacing me at the moment, and you can go back to the SGC, take maternity leave, and go right back if you want."

Sam looked back down at her day planner with a small sigh. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" He asked, confused.

She inhaled. "I don't know if I want to go back after I have the baby. It's been nice to be able to take Grace to school and pick her up."

"You'd go crazy if it lasted longer than a week."

"Would I?" Sam asked, unsure.

"Yep. You like your job too much." He said, affectionately.

"Maybe." She admitted.

"Besides, you've got that new enemy. It'd take too long to bring someone up to speed."

"True."

"Just make sure you've got a few people who can watch the base so you can have some fairly normal hours." He said with a shrug. "Like I did."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You mean those "Walter? Whose turn is it to fill in for me?" calls I'd get at three in the morning?"

"You know you love me," Jack grinned.

"You're lucky I do," she said, trying not to smile.

"Now that's out of the way, I'm ready for lunch. Steak anyone?"

Sam raised her eyebrow, clearly not impressed with his attempted humor.

"Uh, I'll take that as a maybe." Jack winked.

"No more red meat, Jack," Sam said, seriously. "That's what it says in the American Heart Association brochure that Dr. Vincent sent us home with."

"Yeah." Jack sighed. "What did I do to make her hate me again?"

"Jack..."

"Never mind. I don't have to be the secretary of defense. We can have salmon for all I care."

"I like salmon!" His wife cried.

"Yes, but..."

"But what?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um...I'm going to plead the fifth and go lie down for a nap like a good little boy," Jack said, forcing a grin in his discomfort.

"What's wrong with my salmon?!" Sam asked again as he closed the door. She shook her head. She was never going to get an answer out of him. Damn black ops training...

She sighed before looking in the freezer. "Pasta and broccoli salad with a vinaigrette sauce, it is, then," she murmured, shaking her head as she thought of the man she'd married. He was good. He was very good.


	29. Adjusting

"She said I could fish," Jack sighed as he sat on the bed, waiting for his wife to finish freshening up for their first appointment with the cardiologist.

"Yes, but that was just an example. I highly doubt she'll authorize your fishing through solid ice," Sam protested as she walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a yellow cable-knit sweater and black slacks with her long hair styled as usual with a light wave near the end. "Especially with the below freezing temperatures of Minnesota."

"Can we at least ask her?" Jack asked as she slipped her shoes on.

"Jack, she might not even authorize the trip to the cabin at all," Sam said, trying to be gentle with the news. "I mean, you just had a heart attack for cryin' out loud! We may have to visit the cabin some other time."

Jack sighed. "Fine."

"But..." Sam said, more sympathetically. "We'll ask her."

Jack brightened a little as Sam fastened her watch to her wrist before smoothing her sweater over the bump created by their unborn baby which was only visible because of the form-fitting cut of the sweater. "Let's go." She said, looking at her husband with a small smile.

"Yes, ma'am," Jack murmured under his breath as he stood.

Sam watched him leave the room with a small sigh before she reached for her charcoal pea coat and walked out to the car.

-

The drive to the Academy hospital was uncomfortably and abnormally silent, and Sam looked over at her husband who sat in the passenger seat beside her. He just watched the world pass by him as he sat staring out the window.

She tried to open her mouth to say something, anything, butshe thought better of it. She'd undoubtedly been pushing him too hard to accept his new lifestyle.

She sighed. She just wanted him to talk to her. She pulled up to the Academy hospital general admittance doors, and put the car into park. "Go on in," she said, softly. "I'll be in once I park the car."

He nodded silently before stepping out of the car and closing the door behind him.

She watched him for a few moments before she put the car back in drive and drove sedately through the parking lot in an effort to find a parking spot. Didn't he realize that the only reason she was so serious about all of his dietary and lifestyle changes was because she didn't want to lose him? Didn't he know how well she knew him? That she knew if he were to spend more than six months feeling helpless and tired he'd rather die?

She finally found an empty spot toward the back of the parking lot. She pulled into the spot, put the car in park and turned off the engine. She inhaled as she thought of her husband and the reality of his brush with death hit her once again. As she felt herself choke up with emotion, she let her head fall to the steering wheel and cried.

-

"Sorry I'm late," Sam murmured meekly as she entered the office where her husband sat. "Couldn't find a parking spot."

"I see." He said, emotionlessly.

She pulled her coat off and held it in her arms as she sat down in the chair beside him. She'd only taken a few moments to gather herself together, and she hoped that her recent tears had evaporated during the walk back up to the hospital's entrance.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Dr. Vincent said, entering the room before Sam could have much of a chance to be perturbed by the silence. She stepped around to the other side of her desk where she sat down in front of them. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Sam and Jack muttered in unison.

The cardiologist seemed to distrust their self-assessments though she smiled kindly. "Good. That's good to hear." She looked at Jack. "How has your recovery been so far? Are you resting, eating right, taking time to smell the roses?"

"Yeah." Jack said with a sarcastic edge to his tone. "I've got the Post-Heart-Attack police at my house. I'm perfect."

Sam closed her eyes and inhaled to keep from losing her composure.

"How are you, Mrs. O'Neill? Are you adjusting to the new lifestyle?"

Sam opened her eyes again to see the sympathetic gaze of the cardiologist. "I'm fine." She managed, tersely.

Dr. Vincent let her eyes wander from Sam to Jack before she inhaled and retrieved a small pad of sticky notes. "One of the things I like to have all of my couples do within the first couple of weeks after the initial attack is to see one of the Academy psychologists. I'm going to write down his name and phone number, and I'd like you to make sure you get in touch with him by the time we see each other next."

Sam nodded slowly as Jack rolled his eyes.

"Something wrong, General?"

"No." Jack sighed.

"He doesn't like shrinks," Sam said, looking at him for a moment.

"I see." Dr. Vincent said, nodding. "Well, I don't think it will take too many sessions. Usually my patients end up having one session for themselves, one session for their spouse, and then one joint session where Dr. Hamilton will act as a mediator while the couple usually ends up talking through some of their frustrations from the change in lifestyle."

Sam nodded in understanding.

"Now, did you get a chance to do any exercise?" Dr. Vincent asked, turning back to Jack. "Maybe take a nice relaxing walk in the park with your wife? Did you maybe walk the dog for a few minutes?"

Jack exhaled. "I...walked around the house a little bit, but I was pretty much confined to my room."

Sam winced internally at his choice of words. Like she had kept him prisoner.

"Well, maybe this week," Dr. Vincent said with a kind smile. "In fact, I think I'd like you to have a session or two with one of our physical therapists on staff in the next week. I'll give you the PT/OT number."

"Thank you," Sam said, quietly. She felt more and more isolated from her husband the longer this appointment dragged on.

"Are you having some trouble working within the dietary guidelines I gave you last week?" Dr. Vincent asked, looking at Sam and then at Jack.

Sam shook her head. "No."

Jack threw her a look.

"Well, I mean...Jack likes red meat and egg yolks, so it's an adjustment..."

"You don't have to do it, Sam," Jack sighed, annoyed.

Sam closed her mouth and bit the insides of her cheeks before she looked up at the doctor. "It's an adjustment," she shrugged.

"Well, we have some nutritionists and dieticians here on staff who have some wonderful recipes in case you have any trouble meeting the guidelines and still feeling like you get to enjoy eating your food." Dr. Vincent said, earnestly.

She inhaled. "I know this is an adjustment. Chronic conditions like heart disease often induce the same kind of grief cycle that you would experience if someone had died. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but you can get through it. Just recognize that for both of you, and probably for any children or close friends and relatives, there will be good and bad days. Days when you're excited about the chance you have of preventing these kinds of attacks in the future and other days when you're depressed that you have to think about it in the first place. You may be feeling guilty about some aspect of heart disease prevention. Thinking that you could have done better. The point is, that this kind of cycle is normal, and you need to allow yourselves and each other to experience the whole cycle. That's when you'll get to the real healing."

Sam felt silent tears slip down her cheeks as she nodded.

"Now, I'd like to set up an appointment for early next week to do some more tests," Dr. Vincent said, turning to Jack. "I just want to make sure your heart is still healing and working properly."

Sam looked over at him as he nodded slowly.

"Excellent. Do you have any questions?"

Sam bit her lip before she inhaled. "Wh-when do you think Jack would be able to travel?"

"Depends mostly on what his tests show when he comes in," Dr. Vincent said, seriously. "Right now, he seems to be all right, but if he's in pain or has some trouble over the next few days, I might have to change my mind."

Sam nodded as she played with her fingers nervously. "We just...we have a cabin in Minnesota. Jack's grandfather built it, and...it's been our tradition, when we've been home together, to go to the cabin for Christmas."

"Sounds like a great tradition," Dr. Vincent said with a smile. "Like I said, I don't see why he couldn't go as long as someone else was worrying about doing the heavy labor, assuming, of course, that there is any involved."

Sam nodded earnestly. "Sure. Sure."

"Someone besides you," Dr. Vincent said in a gentle rebuke as she looked down at Sam's gently curved bump.

Sam nodded more slowly in understanding. "Okay."

"Any other questions?"

"Nope." Jack muttered somewhat flippantly as he stood.

Dr. Vincent followed suit, and offered her hand to Jack. "Well then, I'll give you my card in case something comes up."

"Won't need it." Jack said, looking in cocky disdain at the card.

Sam reached out for it as she stood. "Thank you, Dr. Vincent. You've been very helpful."

"Try to take some time for yourselves. Some time to reconnect outside of the caretaker and patient roles," she said, seriously.

Sam swallowed as she looked at her husband for a moment. "We'll try," she managed, obviously guarded at the prospect of spending any length of time with him in this particular mood.

"It will get better," Dr. Vincent promised. "Just a little readjustment, that's all."

"Thank you," Sam managed as she stepped past the doctor and her husband and into the waiting room.

Jack followed and they walked silently to the front doors together. "I'll get the car."

"Of course you will." He said, sarcastically.

"What does that mean?" She asked, turning to him in infuriation.

"I can get to the damn car, Sam," Jack returned, angrily. "Yes, I just had a heart attack, but I'm not helpless."

"I know." She said with a dangerously calm tone.

"Well, why aren't you showing it? Why aren't you acting like I can still do things for myself?"

"Because I know that if you take it a little easier than you're used to for the short term, you will probably be better off in the long term." She snapped. "And even though you're hell bent on telling the world that I'm the Wicked Witch of the West, I'm just trying to take care of you because I love you. God forbid that I should worry about you having another heart attack."

"Well, it's not exactly a picnic being the person who just had the damn thing!" Jack announced.

"I never said it was," Sam whispered, tears pricking at her eyes. "But every so often, I realize how close I came to losing you last week, and I..."

She paused as her voice became shaky with emotion. "And I want to do everything I can to keep from going through that again."

"Yeah, well what about me?" Jack asked, more quietly. "You had that first nightmare, and I spent half the night wondering if you'd be okay if something were to happen to me." He swallowed and looked down at the floor. "I've made more than my share of enemies here, and someday, they might want to even the score."

Sam closed her eyes at the prospect of losing him to some sort of revenge attack.

"I just...I worry that if something like that were to happen, you wouldn't have what you needed."

"I'd be fine, Jack." She whispered. "Financially, legally...I'd be fine." She blinked away another storm of tears. "But I'd want to die if I wasn't able to wake up with you in the morning or see you play with Doc and Grace." She ran her fingers over her stomach. "And...it would kill me to give birth to this baby if I knew he'd never get to meet his father."

Jack swallowed as he watched her. She looked so scared and so vulnerable. He inhaled before taking a step toward her. "C'mere."

"I'll be all right," she whimpered as she tried to wave his arms away.

"Sh," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her, gently resting one hand on the back of her head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know you've felt like I've been too protective..."

"It's okay," he murmured affectionately. "Just...let me do some things for myself and for you once in a while, okay?"

She nodded rapidly.

"Look, how about you, Grace and I have a quiet night at home tonight, hm? Some salmon, a movie, maybe a game...we'll have some fun, okay?"

She pulled away as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay."

"All right," he said with a small smile. "Let's go home."

-

"Knock, knock," Daniel greeted as he opened the door to the O'Neill home.

Sam poked her head around the corner from where she'd been preparing dinner in the kitchen. "Daniel?"

"And me," Vala chimed in.

"And I as well," Teal'c added as he entered the house.

"Hi, guys." She grinned, wiping her hands on her apron before she pulled it off and walked over to hug her friends.

"Look at you!" Daniel grinned as he pulled back and looked at her slowly expanding belly. "You can hardly tell you're pregnant in BDUs..."

Sam chuckled as she modeled the small bump off. "Yes, well..."

Vala shook her head as she hugged her friend. "How have you been feeling? I mean, with the heart attack, you must have..."

"I'm fine," Sam interrupted gently. "Thank you for asking."

"We brought Chinese," Daniel announced, showing her the plastic bag he'd carried into the room.

"Ch-chinese?" Sam asked, surprised.

"We didn't want to impose," Vala added, helpfully.

"Well...we'll, uh...have pot luck," she said, forcing a smile to her lips as Jack, Grace, and Doc arrived at the top of the stairs.

"Danny! Teal'c! Vala!" Jack looked around the kitchen. "Where's Mitchell?"

"Doing her job," Daniel said, pointing his thumb to Sam. "And cursing every minute of it."

Sam chuckled softly.

"Ooh! Chinese!" Jack grinned, looking at the bags which Daniel had in his hand.

Sam bit back a response to his eagerness, trying to keep their discussion from earlier that afternoon in mind.

"Sam's had a bit of a craving for beef and broccoli, though she doesn't want to admit it since Chinese is, at least for the moment, off the list of approved foods that my doctor gave me," Jack said, looking at Daniel. "Anyway, you get some of that?"

"Yeah." Daniel said, nodding.

Sam turned a surprised look to her husband, who grinned. "I'll have some of that risotto with my salmon. It's my favorite."

"So, you can't have Chinese?" Daniel asked, looking at his friend.

"Uh...no." Jack said, shaking his head. "Red meat is a "no", fried food is a "no", and the heavy glazes and sauces are all also "no"."

"And we thought we were going to get something you could have," Vala pouted. "I wanted to bring pizza."

"That, I can have," Jack said, eagerly. "Assuming that I get what my wife has every time we have pizza."

"Veggie pizza?" Grace asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Yep." Jack laughed.

"Ooh, what's this?" Vala asked, dipping a spoon into one of the pots on the stove.

"That's the risotto Jack mentioned." Sam smiled.

"It's so good!" Vala cried with a mouth full of the food. "Did you make it?"

Sam nodded. "Yes."

"That's it," Vala murmured, eating another bite of the rice dish. "That's the last time I believe Sergeant Siler." She swallowed before taking another bite. "He seems like such a nice man, but..."

"But what?" Sam asked as she offered her guest another plate.

"Thank you," Vala said, taking the plate before serving herself a heaping spoonful of the dish. "You know it would absolutely apall you to know what he said about your cooking."

"Please," Sam said, dryly. "Enlighten me."

"He made up some story about you giving half of the base food poisoning at a base-wide picnic ten years ago."

Sam blushed, and Vala paused in her chewing. "You mean it's true?" She asked, swallowing.

Teal'c nodded, steadfastly. "Indeed."

"I hadn't realized that the eggs in my fridge were a little older than I usually let them go," Sam grimaced. "It was from my, uh...mission days."

"Well, before I remember just how long I was praying to the porcelain gods on this one," Jack interrupted. "I'm going down to play some air hockey...anyone else wanna come with?"

"I could go for that," Daniel admitted.

"Me too!" Vala said, excitedly.

"And me!" Grace added.

Doc offered an enthusiastic woof, causing Sam to chuckle softly. "Sounds like we're going downstairs."

-

"Ha!" Jack yelled, excitedly.

Sam raised an eyebrow as she looked over to where he'd just scored the winning point against Teal'c.

"I know, I know," Jack said, apologetically, calming instantly. "Blood pressure."

Sam managed a small smile, continuing to hold her tongue about his medical condition.

"You know, Jack, you're taking this all a bit better than I thought you would," Daniel admitted.

"Oh?" Jack asked, walking over to the couch so that he could sit beside his wife.

"Yeah." Daniel said, looking up from where he was rubbing Vala's neck and shoulders. "I thought Sam would have driven you crazy by now."

Sam tensed as Jack sat beside her. "Well..." She began, swallowing as she tried to gather up the courage to rehash any of the argument they'd had that morning.

"She's taking very good care of me," Jack murmured as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

Sam turned a grateful smile to him as she cuddled up to him, resting her cheek on his shoulder and letting her hand fall to her lap as it cradled her burgeoning belly.

"Mom, are we finishing this game?" Grace asked, looking up at her mother.

Sam exhaled. "Sorry, angel," she murmured, pulling away from Jack, as she returned to the chess board.

"Your move, Mom."

"Okay," Sam said, looking at the board. She made a move before sitting back in her husband's arms. "Your move."

"Check mate." Grace said, instantly making her move.

Sam smiled. "Impressive. I haven't been beaten for a few years..."

"Yeah, that's because you don't play anyone except me anymore," Jack murmured, affectionately.

She giggled softly.

"Well, still...you have to admit that historically, you haven't taken vulnerable too well," Daniel finished, returning to his earlier train of thought.

"He still doesn't," Sam admitted. "I'm just learning when to give him some space."

"What was it like?" Vala asked, looking at Jack.

She won a look from all of her compatriots.

"What? I've never been near death before!" She protested. "I mean, there was this one time where a merchant from..."

"Ahem," Daniel interrupted. "I don't think we need a story right now."

"Yeah, Dad, what was it like?" Grace asked after a moment.

Sam studied her husband's face as his jovial nature was stripped away with every thought that went through his mind about his many brushes with death.

"Grace, angel," she murmured, looking back at Grace. "Maybe you should go to bed. Your dad's had a long day, and he's tired."

"She's fine," Jack said, touching his wife's hand as she prepared to stand. "I guess...I keep trying to avoid talking about this, but it's not doing me any favors as you saw this afternoon."

Sam tensed. "Well, I think we were both a little emotional about the whole experience..."

"Yes, I think we were." Jack admitted before he inhaled. "When I had the heart attack...I went to...a place..." He exhaled slowly. "Uh, I can't remember a lot about everything, but I do remember thinking that when I woke up out of the anesthesia, I'd seen Charlie."

"Who's Charlie?" Vala asked before Daniel could quiet her.

"Jack's son." Sam whispered, taking her husband's hand into her own. "He died before Jack went on the first mission with Daniel."

"Oh," Vala whispered, more sympathetically.

"I remembered thinking that I'd finally made it. I'd finally gotten to where I wanted to go. I could go with Charlie, and I could rest."

Sam tried to swallow the tears which had begun welling up in her eyes.

"And then, I thought about Grace and Sam."

He looked over at Sam, who was trying to appear strong for her husband.

"And I thought about the baby."

Sam looked down at her stomach, gently rubbing it with one hand.

"And I realized that, as much as I loved and will always love Charlie, I've had so much to live for that I couldn't just throw it away." He gently wiped Sam's tears from her face as he looked into her watery eyes. "So, I guess that's when I started fighting to come back."

The party fell into a deep silence as Sam wrapped her arms around her husband. "I'm glad you came back," she whispered, tearfully.

"I'm glad I came back too," he admitted softly.

"Do you think Charlie would have liked me?" Grace asked after a moment.

"He would have loved having a little sister. Especially one like you," Jack said, managing a chuckle as he reached out for his daughter's hand.

"Well, this has been a nice evening," Daniel admitted as Jack and Sam hugged their daughter. "We'll clean up and show ourselves out."

"Thanks for coming," Sam said, looking over at him.

"Sure thing," Daniel said with a smile as he, Vala and Teal'c stood. "Take care of yourselves, and we'll see you at the base when you come back."

Sam nodded as she returned her attention to her family, only marginally surprised to find that none of the O'Neills had a dry eye between the three of them.

"I'm getting soft in my old age," Jack laughed as he sat back several minutes later.

"I like it," Sam said, curling up beside him as a sign of her emotional and physical weariness.

Grace smiled silently as she laid her head on her mother's lap.

"I think they've got the Simpsons on tonight," Jack said, looking down the row. "Any objections?"

Sam rolled her eyes as Grace shook her head.

"Okay then, by majority rules, we're watching the Simpsons." He said, reaching for the television remote and turning the television on.

It was only a few minutes before he heard two sets of snoring from his wife and daughter. He smiled as he turned the program off. He lay his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. These were the Kodak moments he'd been wanting so desperately not to miss.


	30. Curve Balls

"Well, Mrs. O'Neill," Dr. Stephen Hamilton, Sam's new obstetrician, said from where he sat behind his desk with her file in front of him. "As far as I can tell, you're in good health. Everything seems to be on track for your due date of May 28th of next year."

Sam nodded, turning a small smile to her husband.

"Now, though you are in good health, I do have a few concerns."

Sam looked back, tensing slightly. "Of course."

"Your blood pressure was a little higher than I'd like. High blood pressure can become a chronic condition in pregnancy that could lead to such complications as preeclampsia or full blown eclampsia, which would endanger both your and the baby's lives."

Sam inhaled. "Right."

"For now, I would just suggest that you relax, take it easy, try to avoid stressful situations."

"My husband is recovering from a heart attack," Sam protested. "And in a matter of days, I will be expected to resume my command of the deep space radar telemetry operation under Cheyenne Mountain. I'm afraid that avoiding stressful situations is almost impossible."

"I may have used the wrong verb," the doctor said, unphased by her words. "Limiting your exposure to excessive stress would be in your best interests. As well as eating a heart healthy diet which I'm sure you're doing with your husband. Also, making sure that you get some light exercise and succeeding in attaining at least eight hours of sleep per night will greatly improve your blood pressure. If, however, that doesn't seem to work, we'll also consider some medication to keep your blood pressure down."

She nodded, starting to feel somewhat uneasy about her pregnancy. "That, uh...that sounds dangerous."

"Right now, you're doing just fine." Dr. Hamilton assured. "I'm just trying to warn you about the possible complications that might arise further down the road."

Jack reached over and squeezed her hand, gently, and she managed to send a grateful smile to him.

"Now, one thing I like to have my older patients do is have an amniocentisis. It will alert us to any chormosomal abnormalities and give us other information that we might not be able to see on a scan."

"Chromosomal abnormalities," Sam said, her brow furrowing.

He nodded. "Pregnant women over the age of 35 have a higher likelihood of giving birth to a baby who has physical and mental disabilities. In particular, women over 35 tend to give birth to children with Down's Syndrome."

Sam tensed. "Do you see any signs that I might be carrying a baby affected by Down's Syndrome?"

"That's one of the things which can't be seen on an ultrasound, and certainly not this early. If we were to do an amniocentisis, we could do some genetic testing, and we'd know a lot sooner."

"But there's a risk of miscarriage, isn't there?" Jack added, soberly.

"It's very minimal."

Sam shook her head. "I'm sorry. I've waited too long for this baby. I can't risk another miscarriage."

She looked at Jack as if waiting for confirmation, and he nodded.

"We'll learn to handle whatever challenges this child offers, whether or not they include physical or mental disabilities." She said, firmly.

"I have to tell you, Mrs. O'Neill," he began again. "I'm not sure that is the..."

"It's how I feel." She said, seriously. "And if you don't agree, then I suppose we'll have to find another doctor."

Dr. Hamilton inhaled before nodding. "All right. No amniocentisis."

"Thank you."

He bit his lip. "One of the things I want you to keep in mind is that with your age, there is a high likelihood that you will deliver prematurely, so if you start feeling regular contractions, I want you to call me, and I want you to prepare to come in unless I tell you otherwise."

Sam nodded, soberly.

"Now, the ultrasound that was performed by your primary care physician, uh....Dr. Carolyn Lam, I believe, indicated that there was only one fetus, so I don't think we need to worry about twins."

"Another thing that usually happens to older women?" Sam asked him.

He nodded. "Yes. But by now, twins would show up on an ultrasound even though we don't normally perform them this early."

She nodded.

"Usually, I advise my patients to come back every four weeks or so, but since you do fall into the high-risk bracket of my patients, I would like to see you every two weeks until we reach 36 weeks."

Sam inhaled as she nodded.

"Do you have any questions for me?" He asked, soberly.

Sam shook her head somewhat uneasily. "No, you've...you've explained everything very thoroughly."

"The last thing I want is for a patient of mine to feel like they weren't warned about everything."

"We got that impression," Jack said, nodding. He turned back to his wife. "You ready to go home?"

She nodded as she stood.

"Thank you for coming in," Dr. Hamilton said, extending his hand to her.

"Thank you for seeing me," she said, shaking his hand before she and her husband walked out the door.

-

"I don't like him," Sam admitted as they walked out to the car. "He makes me..."

"Uneasy?" Jack supplied.

She nodded, looking over at him.

"Well, we don't have to see him again. We'll make an appointment with another obstetrician and see how we feel about that one."

"Just like that?" Sam asked, skeptically.

"Just like what?" Jack asked, turning to her somewhat confused.

"I say I don't like him, and just like that, you're okay with that?"

"Sam, he's your doctor." He said with a shrug. "I'm sure Dr. Lam has some other suggestions for obstetricians with the proper security clearance."

"It's just that he...he scares me." She admitted. "And it's not just the things that he said about the risks of this pregnancy. It was more that I was worried that if push came to shove, and something happened, I couldn't count on us being on the same page." She bit the inside of her cheek. "Is that crazy?"

"No." He said, gently. "It's not crazy."

She managed a grateful smile as he offered her a comforting hug. "Thanks."

"So, did you mean what you said about needing to go back to work soon?" He asked as they continued to walk out to the car.

"Well...General Landry did say that I could take all the time I wanted, but I got the impression that I was getting on your nerves a little."

"Never," he laughed as he pulled her closer to him and gently kissed her cheek.

She smiled. "Still, I should go back to work. I'll get too far behind if I don't go soon."

"Yes, but don't go back to early," he said, seriously. "I know he could have had a better bedside manner, but Dr. Hamilton did have a valid point about limiting your stress."

"I know," she acknowledged. "And I'll keep that in mind when I make my decision about when to go back."

"That's all I ask," he said as they approached the car.

"Jack?" Sam asked as she put her seatbelt on.

"Hm?"

"Do we have any jello?"

He turned a curious eye to her. "Yeah, actually. We do. We always have jello. You know that. You like the blue, so we have that on hand. Grace likes the yellow, so we have that on hand. I like the red, so we also have that on hand."

"I want green."

He blinked. "What?"

"I know that sounds strange," she said, sheepishly. "Since I have hated green jello since my babysitter made me eat this...green jello, cottage cheese, pineapple thing..." She shuddered. "But I REALLY could go for some green jello with apple slices in it and whipped cream."

Jack tried to school the smile from his features.

"What?" Sam asked, looking over at him.

"You are so pregnant," he chuckled, affectionately.

She blushed as she started the car.

"Come on, we need to go grocery shopping anyway," he said as she drove out of the parking lot. "Let's get you some of that green jello."

Sam nodded as her cell phone rang. "Carter," she greeted, efficiently.

"He broke up with me," Cassandra whispered in shock.

"Cassie?"

"He got back from New York, took me to lunch and called off the engagement," she murmured, numbly.

"You're kidding!" Sam cried, looking at her curious husband. "He called off the engagement? Why?"

"What?!" Jack whispered loudly.

"He's..." She paused. "He's getting back together with his ex-wife."

"Oh, Cassie..." Sam murmured, apologetically. "Are you okay?"

"He actually said I was a great law school fling, but that he needed more if he was going to be an actual, respected lawyer."

"Then, he's crazy, Cassie." Sam said, seriously. "There's nothing better than you."

Jack nodded, fervently.

"And Jack agrees."

"I can't stay here for Christmas, Sam." She whimpered, vulnerably. "I was going to celebrate Christmas with Cameron and his family in Philadelphia, but..."

"You'll come here," Sam insisted. "Or the cabin. Wherever we decide to have Christmas."

"Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt your family..."

"You're family, Cassandra," Sam interrupted. "You may be from another planet and your last name may be Fraiser, but you'll always be an O'Neill at heart."

Jack nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, Sam," she whispered, gratefully.

"Call if you need anything," Sam insisted.

"I will, but right now, I need to gather my composure so that I can take my final exam."

"Good luck," Sam murmured as Cassie hung up the phone.

"That son of a b..."

"Jack!" Sam scolded.

"What?" Jack asked, looking at her seriously. "Don't tell me that you weren't thinking it."

"Yes, but..."

"He got the world with Cassandra." Jack interrupted again. "And he doesn't think she's good enough for his high-falutin' lawyer friends."

"Jack," Sam murmured, gently taking his hand into her own to calm him. "She was thinking of ending it too."

"Well, that's different."

"How?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He proposed to her. And it's an unwritten rule that any man who breaks off the engagement after being the one who proposed is scum."

"Really?" Sam asked with her brow furrowed.

"At least, that's how I see it," he mumbled.

"Jack, she's an adult." Sam said, seriously. "And as much as we might not like it, she's old enough to be in this big world. And part of living in this world is the capacity to be hurt and the ability to hurt others."

"Yeah, well, I still think he doesn't deserve her."

"I know." She said simply as they pulled into the grocery store parking lot. "And someday, she'll figure that out for herself."

"You're so wise," he teased as they got out of the car and walked into the store.

"I've been dumped a few times," she said, turning an amused smile to him as she got the cart. "Now, what did we need?"

"Milk, eggs, cheese, jello, bread..." Jack rattled off.

"Jack?" A woman called from nearby, interrupting them.

He turned, paling slightly as he looked back into his ex-wife's hazel eyes. "Sara."

Sam tensed as she turned with him.

"I'm a little surprised to see you up and about." Sara said, studying him closely. "I heard about your heart attack." Her nervous smile faltered. "I mean, I guess the whole world knew about your heart attack with all of the media coverage, so...anyway, I was just...I was just concerned. I was kind of afraid that it was my call that..."

"No," Sam said, shaking her head. "It wasn't your call. There were a lot of things going on."

"You must be his wife." She said, turning a critical eye to Sam. "I'm Sara."

"We've met," Sam said, nodding. "It's, uh...it's good to see you again."

Sara's brow furrowed before recognition showed in her eyes. "Right. You were...on his team...uh, Captain Carter, right? Amanda Carter?"

Sam blushed as Sara's eyes wandered down to her stomach. "Actually, it's Samantha." She corrected with a light shrug.

"General Samantha Carter, now." Jack interrupted. "She's commanding a deep space radar telemetry operation out of Cheyenne Mountain."

"I see." Sara said, looking back at Jack. "Well, I always said that if you ever needed to marry again, you'd marry the Air Force." She glanced back at Sam for a moment. "Just didn't realize how true that would be."

Sam inhaled sharply, almost wishing that the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

"I saw your daughter on the news when they announced your heart attack," Sara said, more conversationally. "She's very beautiful. Looks just like you."

"Well, thank you." Jack said, sincerely.

"You must be Jack, Sara's ex," a voice murmured as a silver-haired man walked over and wrapped an arm around Sara's waist. He extended his right hand to Jack. "I'm Tim Meyers, Sara's husband."

Jack managed a thin smile as he shook the other man's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Thanks." He said, genuinely. "You too. How are you feeling? I mean, it can take months after even the slightest myocardial infraction to start feeling like you're back to, shall we say, normal."

"I heal quickly," Jack said, obviously somewhat reserved.

"Tim's a doctor." Sara supplied.

"Cardiologist?" Sam asked, curiously.

"Actually, no." Tim said, shaking his head. "I'm an obstetrician. Considered going into cardiology, but after the millionth ill-placed jokes about my career paths, I decided I'd rather stick with the baby jokes than with the heart attack jokes."

"Tim's practice is in high demand." Sara continued, soberly. "Especially with the women from the Academy and from Peterson Air Force base."

"Oh?" Sam asked, surprised. "Why that crowd in particular?"

He nodded. "I was in the service for a few years, paying off my education. I spent a lot of time working on various bases." He shrugged. "I guess these families just think I know where they're coming from. For instance, I know that sometimes doctors caught up in telling their patients every last detail so that they won't get sued for malpractice that they don't see how frightened their patients are getting. No, I find that taking the time to have a meaningful rapport with my patients so that we can converse fairly easily about their fears and the risks minimizes the anxiety considerably."

"So, you wouldn't tell a patient that they're perfectly healthy and then tell them every reason why they should watch their blood pressure?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not," he said, shaking his head. "I would voice any concerns that I had and then open a dialogue so that I could hear any concerns that my patient had. If she was concerned about her blood pressure or her diet or her exercise regimen, I would talk to her and her husband about it."

Sam caught her husband's eye and managed an uncomfortable smile. They'd just found their ideal doctor in his ex-wife's new husband.

"I have a friend who's expecting, and she might be interested in switching obstetricians." Sam said, looking at him with an amiable smile. "Where do you practice?"

"Here's my card," he said, kindly. "Tell her to give me a call."

"Thanks." Sam said, nodding gratefully.

Tim turned to his wife. "We should get going. Bret's flight is going to be here any minute, and you know how much she loves to wait at the baggage claim."

Sara nodded before turning back to Jack and Sam. "It was nice to see you again," Sara said, extending her hand in fellowship.

Sam took and shook it somewhat nervously as she looked up into her eyes. "Yes, Sara, it was."

Sara let go and turned to Jack. She reached over and hugged him, somewhat nervously, before she pulled away. "Take care of yourself," she murmured.

"I will." He promised. "You too."

She nodded before she pulled away. "I promise."

"It was nice to meet you," Tim added, quickly shaking their hands.

"And you," Sam returned.

"Bye."

They walked off, and Sam released a long sigh. "That," she began. "Was awkward."

"Sorry," Jack murmured as they returned to their shopping.

"No, it's fine," Sam said, shaking her head. "I just...feel terrible that when he was talking about his practice, the only thing going through my head was whether or not our insurance would cover him as a provider."

"If he has patients from Peterson and the Academy, he probably will be covered by our insurance," Jack said, seriously.

"How are you?" Sam asked, ignoring his response to her words. "That can't have been easy for you."

"I don't think it was easy for any of us, honestly." Jack said with a shrug.

"You're probably right about that," she admitted.

"Still...I guess I'm okay," he said, pensively. "I mean, the last time I actually saw her, we weren't one-hundred percent sure that it was over, and now...we know."

Sam was silent as they walked.

"So, why did you use the whole "friend" thing back there?"

"Vala doesn't sound happy with Dr. Hamilton either," Sam admitted. "Or so, Daniel tells me. I figured it couldn't hurt to get his card for her." She bit her lip as she looked back at him. "I can find another doctor..."

"Nah." He said, shaking his head. "He seems like he knows what he's doing, and so far, it sounds like he makes you comfortable. We'll deal with him for the next...six months and through your recovery, and then, we're back to seeing Dr. Lam and the pediatrician."

"You're sure?"

He nodded. "Now...back to the task at hand. I believe you wanted jello," he said, pointing to the shelf.


	31. Normalcy

"Grace!" Sam called from the kitchen. "Dinner time!"

"Coming!" She returned from her bedroom.

"What are we having today?" Jack asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Tomato, Phyllo, and Basil Tartlets." Sam said, presenting the small pastries.

"Yum...rabbit food!" Jack joked as he looked at them.

Sam raised an eyebrow as Grace managed a distracted smile at her father's little joke. "They're healthy, and they're within the guidelines of your diet."

"Well, then, they must be just as satisfying as a big, fat juicy slice of pizza..." He said, pretending to hold a heavy slice of the forbidden food in his hand. "You know, with all of that cheese, pepperoni, and just plain grease."

"You mean 'heart attack pie'?" Sam asked with a bit of a sarcastic edge to her tone.

"It's official," Jack said as he shook his head and chuckled. "I think we've been married for too long."

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

"That sarcasm was pure me." Jack teased. "I've been a bad influence on you."

Sam looked at her for a moment before she chuckled. "Just sit down and eat dinner?"

"Yes, ma'am." He winked.

Sam shook her head as she served the tartlets to her husband and daughter.

"Mom?" Grace asked hesitantly after they'd begun eating.

"Yes?"

"Who are the Titans?"

Sam tensed for a moment before taking a bite so that she could think through her answer. "Well, sweetheart, they were mythical creatures in Greek mythology that predated the Olympic gods." She coughed. "Your uncle Daniel understands that whole thing better than I do...why don't you call him after dinner?"

Grace threw her mother a look. "I wasn't talking about Greek mythology, Mom."

Sam swallowed, nervously. "Of course not."

"Why do you ask?" Jack asked, looking over at his seven-year-old.

"I had a dream last night," she said, quietly. "Uncle Teal'c and Bra'tac came through and talked to Mom about something..."

"What were they talking to me about?" Sam asked, seriously.

"A lot of people died," she said, looking at her mother with mournful eyes. "There was a spy, but they couldn't find him until it was too late."

Sam looked at her husband before turning back to her daughter. "Do you know anything else about this spy?"

She swallowed down tears before she nodded. "He had this symbol on his forehead."

With a shaking hand, she recreated a triangular Celtic knot.

Sam looked at her husband with a curious eye, and he shrugged before turning back to Grace. "How did you know he was the spy?"

Grace's lip trembled as if she was trying to keep from releasing a host of emotions.

"Grace?" Sam prodded, gently.

"He..." She began in a shaky voice. "He killed everybody there. Teal'c, Bra'tac, Daniel..." She swallowed as tears slipped down her cheeks. "You."

Sam felt her blood run cold. "I...I need to get to the base," she murmured, hurrying out of the kitchen and into the bedroom to change.

Jack pulled his daughter close, hugging her tightly as she cried.

"Be careful," he managed as Sam appeared outside the bedroom, now dressed in slacks, a blouse, and her coat.

She nodded. "I will be."

-

Sam drove down the streets of Colorado Springs, wishing desperately that Air Force generals got the same kind of sirens that police officers and fire chiefs received in their capacities.

"I guess they don't anticipate a global catastrophe, though," she murmured to herself as she reached for her cell phone. She dialed several familiar numbers before reaching the base switchboard operator. "This is Brigadier General Samantha Carter, authorization number Alpha Charlie 35769201. Please put me through to Colonel Mitchell immediately."

"General!" Mitchell greeted several moments later. "How's General O'Neill?"

"He's fine," she managed, worriedly. "I'm headed to the base. I want you to suspend all Gate travel until I get there."

"May I ask why?"

"I have reason to believe that the Jaffa have a spy working to sabotage their attacks on the Titans."

There was a pause. "O...kay..."

"I know it sounds crazy," Sam continued. "But I want to be absolutely sure before I invite any of the Jaffa through to the base. I mean...except Teal'c and Bra'tac, of course."

"Well, we just sent Teal'c to meet the Jaffa council on Chulak." Mitchell reported. "Should I recall him?"

"No," Sam said, shaking her head as she had a nauseated feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I'll be there in ten, and we'll talk then."

"Yes, ma'am."

She hung up the phone, wondering what might befall her friend on his homeworld before pressing her foot to the gas a little harder in an effort to prevent the inevitable disaster.

-

"You never said how you got this intelligence," Mitchell said, facing Sam, who was now dressed in her BDUs, in her office.

She swallowed, nervously. "Grace has, uh...dreams." She explained. "It may not seem particularly scientific, but as the commander of this base, I do have to consider every bit of intelligence that comes my way, regardless of how it comes."

"Are her dreams really that reliable?" Cam asked, skeptically. "I mean, are you sure that we could - or should, for that matter - just take the Jaffa with this symbol on his forehead into custody?"

Sam sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Sometimes, her dreams are more...symbolic. But we can still warn Teal'c and Bra'tac."

"But that warning could trigger the attack that we're trying to avoid."

"It's not fool-proof," Sam shot back in frustration. "Believe me, I know that. And no one wishes more than I that it was, but we still have to do our best with what little information we have."

He nodded. "You're right."

She bit the nail on her thumb. "I want you to alert the SFs to be on the watch for any suspicious activity."

He nodded.

"And I'm going to try to come up with some way to even the odds." She murmured as she sank into her desk chair.

"Well, if anyone can, it'd be you," Mitchell said with a supportive smile.

"Thank you," she said, managing a small smile of her own. She realized he wasn't moving and remembered once again that they were no longer officers of the same rank. "Uh...dismissed."

"Thank you, ma'am."

She sat back in her chair, resting a hand on her gently rounded stomach. How on Earth was she supposed to protect the base against an attack which might never happen, and if it did, might not happen the way she was expecting?

-

"Ma'am," Walter asked, knockin gon the door.

"Yes, Walter?" Sam asked, gently rubbing her temples in an effort to ward off her oncoming migraine.

"Your husband is on line one."

"Thank you," she said, inhaling as she sat back up. She reached for the telephone. "Carter."

"You sound tired," her husband said, instantly. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, so far," she sighed. "How's Grace?"

"She was hysterical after you left. I think she's afraid she'll lose you like she lost her parents."

"What was I supposed to do?" She asked, softly. "I mean, I need to be here to help coordinate..."

"I know." He interrupted, gently. "It's okay. I got her quieted down enough to go to sleep."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Not really, but she was so tired after her cry..."

"Right," she nodded with a small sigh.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Jack asked after a moment. "I mean...the stress..."

"I'm fine," she lied. "It's just this waiting...I'll be okay."

"You're lying to me," he said, perceptively. "What's going on?"

"Teal'c went to meet with the Jaffa Council on Chulak a few hours ago." She admitted. "We've suspended all Gate activity for the time being, but we can't do that indefinitely, and I'm afraid to think of what might happen to Teal'c if we even try."

"You'll think of something. You always do," he assured.

"Thank you," she managed, gratefully. "I hope I do. It's our last chance to stop something terrible from happening."

"Anything I can do?"

"Just sit with Grace. And call me if she comes up with anything else."

"Well, she said something about a knife, but to be honest, I'm not sure how much that will help. You and I both know that..."

"No Jaffa would willingly give up a weapon," she sighed.

"What about the Alpha or Beta sites? Maybe you can reroute them and ask Teal'c to come through alone?"

Sam shook her head before pausing. "That...might just work," she admitted. "Thanks."

"That's what I'm here for," he said with an audible smile in his voice. "Just don't work too hard, okay?"

"I promise," she smiled. "I love you."

"Love you too."

"Don't worry too much about me," she murmured, affectionately. "You need to take it easy too, you know."

"And when you are home I'll stop worrying," he admitted.

"I'll be home as soon as I can," she promised.

"Sooner rather than later," he said, his voice betraying his worry.

"I'll do my best," she assured.

-

"Unscheduled offworld activation," the alarm announced over the loudspeaker.

Sam was instantly out of her chair and headed down to the control room.

"We're receiving a radio transmission," Walter said, turning to the General as she made her way down the stairs.

"Patch it through," she said, now on the ground as she made her way to stand just behind the row of technicians.

"It is Teal'c from Chulak," the familiar voice greeted.

"Teal'c, it's General Carter," she said, hoping that her voice didn't betray the sense of foreboding which churned within her.

"General Carter," Teal'c responded. "It has been some time since I last heard your voice. How does O'Neill fare?"

"He's fine." Sam said, trying to manage a smile despite her worries. "What's going on?"

"There was an attack here on Chulak," Teal'c said, soberly. "Only six Jaffa remain, including a young boy, and they are all badly injured. Bra'tac and I request permission to bring them through the Stargate as refugees until we are able to find them a home on one of the other Jaffa worlds."

"Teal'c, we've had a situation here on the base," Sam returned. "We've had to suspend all Gate activity for the time being. Maybe you can go to the Beta site? Colonel Landwirth can explain everything to you when you get there."

"Very well." He agreed. "Teal'c out."

The transmission and the wormhole deactivated, and Sam inhaled, hoping that their plan would work the way it was intended to work.

-

"Incoming wormhole," Walter announced several hours later.

"Who is it?" Sam asked from where she'd been waiting for Teal'c's emergence through the wormhole.

"Teal'c."

"Open the iris." She said, walking into the Gate room somewhat hesitantly. What was she doing walking into what could very well be a fire fight? She had a husband and daughter at home and she was expecting another child, for cryin' out loud. She had no business putting herself at risk.

She met Teal'c at the bottom of the ramp, and managed a smile. "Teal'c."

"I received your message from Colonel Landwirth." He said, seriously. "How may I be of assistance?"

"Do any of the Jaffa you rescued have this symbol on their foreheads?" She asked, showing him the drawing that Grace had made.

"Indeed," Teal'c said, nodding. "Three."

"Dammit," Sam breathed in frustration. "I was afraid of that."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"Grace had a dream," she explained. "She saw all of us killed by the spy in the Jaffa. She said he had a mark like this on his forehead."

"That is most grievous indeed," he said, soberly.

"Is there anyone who's not...acting like a Jaffa?" She asked, almost hopefully.

He shook his head.

"Then, I suppose we'll have to recreate what few conditions I know of," she sighed. She turned back to Walter. "Call Colonel Mitchell. I'm going through the Stargate.

-

Sam felt herself falling forward, faintly, as she exited the wormhole. Teal'c caught her with his strong arms.

"Thank you," she managed, feeling almost as nauseated as she'd been on her first trip through.

"General Carter, are you all right?" Colonel Landwirth asked, approaching her.

"I'll be fine," she said, clutching at Teal'c's strong arms while trying to find her "sea legs" again. "It's just...been a while," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Have the Jaffa been well cared for?"

"Yes, Dr. Livingston told me that their biggest problem was the lack of tretonin in their systems."

"Was there one that didn't have any tretonin at all?" Sam asked, sharply. "Not even a trace?"

"Actually, yes, but Dr. Livingston assumed that it was because he was one of the younger generation who hadn't yet been implanted with a symbiote. He's the only one who didn't receive any tretonin because his immune system seemed just fine."

Sam shared a look with Teal'c. "We need to see that Jaffa immediately."

"Yes, ma'am." Landwirth said, leading her to the infirmary.

Teal'c led the way, and forced his way into the imposter's room. "Titan!" He roared, angrily.

The Titan was a mere boy of ten, and his eyes opened instantly. "Jaffa!" He spat at Teal'c venomously as he reached into a hidden pouch for a knife.

"Watch out!" Sam cried as the Titan threw his knife toward the Jaffa.

The knife stopped mid-air, and the Titan's eyes widened in surprise before it fell to the ground, and Teal'c clutched at the boy's scrubs. "You are our prisoner," he snarled as there was a small thud.

"General Carter!" Voices cried from around the infirmary. Teal'c turned to one of the orderlies who was too shocked to answer. "Restrain him," he ordered.

The nurse nodded before hurrying off to get the restraints.

Teal'c turned back to find Sam lying crumpled in a heap on the floor, her face ashen.


	32. Infirmary

"What the hell happened here?" Sam heard, faintly, as she was being moved swiftly from one place to another.

"We have apprehended the Titan spy. General Carter sustained injury while saving my life."

Injury? She asked herself in the haze between consciousness and unconsciousness. What injury?

-

"Get her to the infirmary!" A voice cried as Sam slowly regained consiousness, now in the familiar scenery of the Gate room. She must have passed out before they took her through the Gate. "Move! Move!"

"Ja..." She murmured, slipping in and out of consciousness.

"General, you're going to be fine," Dr. Lam announced, her head floating in the periphery of Sam's vision. "We're taking you to the infirmary, and we're going to get you taken care of."

The lights which were flying past her eyes as the gurney was hurried down the corridor made her head swim with dizziness.

"Jac..." She managed once more as she gradually lost consciousness again.

-

Jack arrived at the infirmary only a half an hour later. "What happened?"

"We're trying to figure that out," Dr. Lam said, meeting him at the door.

"Who's with her right now?"

"One of the obstetricians I ask to come in if we have pregnant refugees or service women," she explained. "Dr. Tim Meyers."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know him?" Carolyn asked, perplexed by his reaction.

"Uh...we met briefly." He admitted. "In fact, Sam wanted to make an appointment with his office." He bit the inside of his cheek. "She, uh...didn't like Dr. Hamilton."

"He is a little abrupt," Carolyn said, nodding.

"Were there any witnesses? Can you ask anyone what happened?"

Carolyn swallowed, nervously.

"What?"

"All of the, uh...witnesses are at the Beta site being questioned by Colonel Landwirth."

"She went off-world?" Jack asked, incredulously.

"Please, General," she murmured, soothingly. "Calm down. She's being taken care of."

"What the hell was she thinking?"

"We don't know," Carolyn sighed as Daniel and Vala appeared. "We heard Sam was in the infirmary. What happened?"

"She collapsed off-world. That's all we know."

"She went off-world?" Vala asked in surprise.

"That's what I said!" Jack cried.

"Dr. Lam," one of the nurses called from across the infirmary.

"I'm sorry," she said, turning to go. "But I can't stay. I'll try to keep you as updated as I am."

Jack exhaled slowly in his frustration and worry.

"How're you doing, Jack?" Daniel asked, eyeing his friend. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Jack said with icy coolness. "Now, I'd like everyone to stop asking me that question."

"Well, you have to admit, Jack, that it's an obvious one given that you had a heart attack a couple of weeks ago and your second wife, whose first pregnancy ended in miscarriage, is in the infirmary. Stress and tension are inevitable here, and a heart attack might not be that far be..."

Jack shot him a look, causing him to shut up.

"What are they doing in there?" Jack asked, nervously pacing.

"Well, that's easy," Vala said, somewhat flippantly. "They're dissecting her body into a thousand tiny pieces and selling the good parts on the black market."

She won strange looks from both of the men in her company.

"What? I'm just trying to lighten the mood!" She defended. "Anything they say would be better than that, and you know it."

"She's got a point," Daniel said, looking at Jack.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows high.

"Look, you're the one who has always tried to make light of bad situations," he explained. "And I think we could all use a little more humor right now."

"It wasn't funny!" Jack insisted.

"She's working on it," Daniel dismissed. "The point is that it's probably not the worst-case scenario. It rarely is."

"Do I really have to remind you of what my life looks like when it comes to worst-case scenarios?" Jack asked, studying his friend closely.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Look, Jack...sit down, or I'll call Dr. Lam and tell her that you're having chest pains, okay?"

Jack sighed before he did as he was told.

"I'll get the coffee," Vala murmured, turning.

"Decaf for me," Jack called after her before turning to Daniel. "Doctor would kill me if I had the regular stuff."

"Where's Grace?"

"With, uh...one of the neighbors. She's an eighty-five-year-old woman who is as feisty as I've ever seen. Anyway, she and Sam have been talking over the last few weeks, and she offered to watch Grace if something happened." Jack sighed. "I guess she saw the news from the night I had my heart attack."

Daniel nodded, slowly.

The silence passed so slowly as Jack retreated inward for a few moments. Charlie. Sara. The miscarriage. Sam. It was all happening again. He felt fear grip his heart.

"I just...wish I knew what was going on in there," he murmured, trying to calm his racing heart.

"Why?" Daniel asked, studying his friend. "So you'd be prepared for what was going to happen?"

Jack was silent as Daniel finished his alternative theory.

"Or so you could do something about it?"

Jack looked at his clasped hands. "I shouldn't have let her come. I knew it would be bad, but I didn't stop her. I didn't give her a lecture about how she was carrying our unborn child, or how the telephone was designed for these kinds of emergencies. No, I let her go." He sunk back in the chair as he closed his eyes. "If she dies," he murmured inaudibly. "I'll have as good as killed her."

-

"Jack, thanks for waiting," the distinguished husband of his ex-wife said, walking out to where the retired Air Force general sat, praying. His brow furrowed slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't know if you'd rather I called you Jack or General O'Neill. I guess with our histor..."

"Jack's fine," Jack interrupted, standing in front of the doctor. "How's Sam?"

"Resting." Dr. Meyers said, soberly. "I gather you were talking about your wife and not about your wife's friend when you mentioned the situation with her blood pressure?"

Jack nodded slowly, not bothering to make introductions between Meyers and Daniel. He'd explain to Daniel later, and he knew he'd get at least some level of understanding.

"Well, from what I can tell, activating the telekinetic powers of the fetus caused her blood pressure to skyrocket. That's why she passed out. Add to that her exhaustion and worry about the situation and about...shall we say, life at home, and she's still somewhat fragile."

"How fragile?" Jack asked, almost fearfully.

"I'm recommending complete bedrest through the holidays. At the first of the New Year, I'd be happy to reexamine her and determine her needs from then on."

Jack sighed in relief. "Then, she'll be fine as long as she stays in bed."

"That's the theory," Meyers nodded.

"But keeping Sam in bed is going to be nearly impossible," Daniel murmured, knowingly.

Jack's smile faded.

"Does she have family in the area who could come and help out for a few weeks?" Meyers asked, curiously.

Jack shook his head. "The closest she has is a brother in Denver, but between his work schedule and his wife's work schedule, I'm not even sure they'd be able to come just for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."

Meyers nodded, pensively.

"I could send Vala..." Daniel offered.

Jack shook his head at the thought of his friend's girlfriend who'd left so that she could lie down. "She needs her rest too."

"I think Sam is well enough to return home," Meyers began. "But if it would be beneficial, I can ask to have her sent over to the Academy hospital..."

Jack shook his head. "We can find someone. And until we do, I can do what she was doing."

"But Jack with your..." Daniel began.

Jack shot him a look.

"The important thing is for your entire family to adjust to these changes," Meyers said, soberly. "Your daughter...the girl we saw on television?"

Jack nodded.

"She might be able to help out around the house with small tasks, and whatever she can't do, you could do. But still, simplify. Cancel extracurricular activities for all of you unless your daughter can find another ride or something like that. For the next several weeks, I want Samantha taking it easy, and from what I've heard about her, she's going to have a difficult time doing so if the house around her is moving as quickly as she'd like to be moving. Especially with your recent heart attack."

Jack nodded again.

"And if you can find some extra help, I'm sure it would be beneficial."

"Thanks, Doctor." Jack said, managing a grateful smile. "Can I see her now?"

"Yes, she may be asleep, but I would imagine she would want to see you as soon as she could."

Jack smiled before he slipped into Sam's isolation room. "Hey," he murmured, sitting by her bedside. "Havent't we been here before?"

"More times than I'd like to count," Sam admitted as her eyes fluttered open.

"There they are," Jack said with a tender smile. "Those baby blues that I think should be illegal."

Sam raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"They could drown a person, don't you know?" Jack teased.

Sam smiled softly. "Sorry for the scare."

"Hey, turnabout is fair play or so I hear," he shrugged. "It wasn't any worse than what I put you through a couple weeks ago."

"Maybe not." She acknowledged.

"Look, I don't know what the doc said to you..."

"Bedrest until January 2nd."

"Yeah."

"We can renegotiate at that time if I have a better blood pressure reading," Sam said with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, well, between the two of us, I think we can manage to play a little shuffleboard and drink a little orange juice instead of our highly caffinated and exciting lifestyle."

Sam's smile grew slowly with each joke.

"Meyers said we can take you home as long as you promise to stay in bed. Otherwise, it's to the Academy for you."

"I'll stay in bed." She grumbled.

"And you say I'm a bad patient," Jack laughed softly.

"I learned from the best," she teased back.

"As long as you're okay, I'll take it," Jack said, more soberly.

"We're both okay," Sam assured.

He nodded before leaning down and kissing her gently. "I love you," he murmured, affectionately.

"Backatcha, flyboy," she smiled, cheekily.

"Now, if we can just get Junior to stop helping," Jack grimaced with only the smallest trace of amusement in his tone.

Sam chuckled affectionately. "We'll figure something out," she said, placing her hands on her stomach and looking down at it, tenderly. "We'll think of some way to turn this supposedly negative into a positive too," she winked as she looked back at her husband.

"Kids..." He said, shaking his head, more lightheartedly than before.


	33. Bedrest

"Don't worry about it, Cass," Jack murmured as he walked into the bedroom with the cell phone in his hand. "She's fine, I'm fine, Grace is fine. We're all fine."

He paused for a moment. "What do you mean you've already taken your exams and you're waiting in the airport?"

Sam raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"All right, I'll come and..."

He stopped and listened. "Okay, okay...I guess we'll see you when we see you."

Another pause. "All right. Bye."

"She's, uh...flying in." He murmured as he hung up the phone.

Sam sighed. "We're fine."

"I think she knows we're lying," he admitted as he sat on the bed beside her.

"We're not lying," Sam said, raising an eyebrow. "We're two full-grown adults who can certainly handle this little...set-back."

"Setback?" Jack asked, skeptically. "We're two grown adults recuperating from a heart attack and high blood pressure. We've pretty much got the same prescriptions from our doctors. Rest."

Sam rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" Jack asserted as he caught her displeased look. "I wasn't the one who went traipsing through the Stargate despite the fact that I had a doctor tell me to keep an eye on my blood pressure."

"Well, I don't hear Teal'c complaining," she bit back. "He is, after all, the one who would have died if I hadn't been there."

"You don't know that," Jack asserted.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" She groaned. "I made a mistake. You've been known to make a few in your lifetime."

"I never made one while I was pregnant," he said, pointedly.

"Oh, and none of your decisions ever affected someone else's life?" She shot back.

Jack sighed. "This is counter-productive," he said after a moment. "We fight, and we raise our blood pressures which we've both been ordered to keep down. It's a simple formula."

Sam threw him a venomous look as she pulled the covers back and began to step out of bed.

"Ah!" Jack protested. "What do you need?"

"To get away from you." Sam said, dryly.

"And now you know how I felt last week while you were mother-henning."'

She closed her eyes as she slipped back into bed. She reached for a couple of colored items in her nightstand drawer before she picked up her well-worn copy of Hawking's _A Brief History of Time_.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked, watching her with his brow furrowed.

"Not listening to you," she said, putting the ear plugs into her ears as she settled back against the pillows and began to read her book.

"Oh, that's real mature," Jack said, rolling his eyes as he turned on the TV and reclined against the pillows while he channel-surfed.

-

"Jack?" Sam asked, some time later, as she put her book away and took out her ear plugs.

"Yeah?"

"Could you get my laptop?"

"What for?"

"I never finished my Christmas shopping, and it looks like I'll have to do it online from now on."

"Right..." Jack said, slipping out of bed. "Still in the office in its case?"

"Probably." Sam said with a shrug. "I haven't moved it."

He nodded before heading out of the room. She sighed softly as she looked at the television screen. She shook her head as she saw the Cartoon Network logo at the bottom of the screen. Jack was such a kid at heart, she thought to herself with a small chuckle.

"Hey, you want a snack while I'm up?" Jack asked, bringing the laptop case to her.

"Actually, I think I could go for some yogurt and granola," she admitted.

"Comin' up." He said before he ducked back out of the room.

Sam inhaled, feeling somewhat guilty for her annoyance only an hour or so ago. She was married to a man who would do anything he could to make her happy, and just when she'd found herself in only marginally different circumstances than his own, she'd done nothing but complain.

Jack returned a few moments later with the snack, and Sam accepted it, gratefully. "I'm sorry," she managed, somewhat bashfully.

He shrugged. "It's okay."

"I guess I was so caught up in my worry that I didn't even think about how maddening your own restrictions must be for you."

He smiled softly as he kissed her forehead. "Now, we're in the same boat."

She sighed. "I know. Grace must be going crazy with the both of us."

"Nah." Jack said, hopping onto the bed beside his wife. "She's at school right now. She doesn't have to deal with us."

Sam giggled softly at the thought of school as a reprieve.

"Hey, she's your daughter," Jack said with a shrug as he settled back into his spot on the bed. "This shouldn't surprise you."

"Yes, but when I was her age, I wasn't so enthusiastic about school," she pointed out as she laid back and began crunching on the granola.

"Oh, don't even try to pretend that's true," Jack said, looking at her as he shook his head in disbelief. "Jacob told me once about how you ran away from home and straight to your elementary school."

Sam blushed.

"And Mark...the tales he's told me about how you would jump up from the kitchen table after dinner and race into your room so that you could design some fantastic science project."

"Yeah," she said, raising an eyebrow. "So that I wouldn't have to hear my dad and Mark arguing."

"The point is," he said, more gently. "Is that it doesn't surprise me that Grace actually likes going to school. For things other than the social life and playground equipment."

Sam chuckled softly. "I suppose it shouldn't surprise me either," she admitted as she continued to eat her mid-morning snack.

"So, who are you still shopping for?"

"What?" She asked, confused.

"You said you needed your laptop for Christmas shopping," he reminded. "What do you still have to get?"

"Oh..." Sam said with sudden understanding. "Uh...something for Grace, something for Cassie, something for Mark and his family..."

"You get SG-1 their presents already?"

"Actually, yes." She said, nodding.

"Cool." He said as a mischievous gleam appeared in his eye. "Find something for me yet?"

"Not yet," she laughed softly.

"Better hurry up," Jack teased, gently.

"I'll get you something," she winked. "I just needed a little more time to get that figured out."

"Ah." He said, nodding with a small smile.

She sobered somewhat. "You know, while we're stuck like this, we should probably start planning the nursery."

"We could do that," he agreed.

"I mean, with all of the stores with online catalogs, we could have almost everything planned at least," she said, seriously. "Unless, of course, we want to order some of it."

"Sam, I was sold on the idea just because it was something to do besides sit and watch TV," he laughed softly.

She chuckled, wryly. "I guess that's true."

"So, you got any ideas about it?"

"Actually," Sam said, setting her empty bowl down before she reached for the laptop and began booting it up. "Yes."

"You mean, you, the busiest woman in the entire galaxy, have had time to plan the nursery?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

She blushed. "When I would, uh...see Vala in Daniel's office, I'd, uh...end up seeing a few...cribs, valances, quilts, clothes..."

"Pretty much anything baby?" He asked with a knowing smile.

"Pretty much." She chuckled.

"Good for you," he said as he settled into the pillows beside her so that he could see over her shoulder, and yet still gently rub her back, affectionately.

"Vala apparently signed us up for a Baby Registry with Babies "R" Us," Sam smiled as she signed onto the internet through the Wireless router in their home. "And she's put together quite the list. Now, we can change it before anyone sees it, but I thought it was a sweet gesture."

"Yeah." Jack said with a sarcastic chuckle. "Sweet."

Sam smiled softly as she looked back at him. She looked back at the screen and logged into the Babies R Us registry. She quickly navigated herself through the webpages until the picture of an oak crib came to view. "There."

"Nice." Jack said, nodding. "But it's four-hundred dollars. Does our kid really need a crib that expensive?"

"It's more than just a crib," she explained, excitedly. "It turns into a toddler bed, a day bed, and a full-size bed. Our baby can use this for as long as he lives under our roof."

"At this price, he's going to have to," Jack muttered under his breath.

Sam sighed softly. "It's only marginally more expensive than the other cribs."

"Does it come with a mattress? With the rails that it needs for the magical transformation?"

"Mattress, yes, but the rails, no," she admitted. "But I've already checked the prices on those, and it's only another hundred dollars." She swallowed. "We spent more than $500 on Grace's bed, and that's only going to last another few years until she gets into high school or college and wants a bigger bed."

"You have a point," he admitted somewhat begrudgingly.

"And I'm not sold on this particular model," she admitted. "I just thought that the idea was cool. There are less expensive, though more poorly rated, models."

"Okay," he said, shrugging. "What's next?"

"Well, there's this cute thing that Vala found, and she insisted that if I didn't let her put it on the registry that she'd buy it for me, and sic Daniel on us for her spending."

"Ah." He said with a small laugh.

"It's called the Sleep Sheep. Apparently, it plays four sounds that are soothing to infants and children alike, and might help get them to sleep."

"Couldn't hurt," he shrugged. "Especially if someone else buys it."

She turned a look of amused chagrin to him before she continued. "I like the look of the canvas storage bins, and I like the Safari print or the Sports one."

"I like the sports one." Jack admitted as she showed him the two pictures.

"Sports it is," she grinned.

"I like this picture frame," she continued a moment later as she pointed out a cream-colored frame with some writing on it.

"What does it say?" Jack asked, squinting as he tried to read the writing.

She clicked on the picture to enlarge it.

"When they placed you in my arms, you slipped into my heart," it read with places for four pictures.

"It's big...a little less than two square feet," she said, softly.

"I like it." He said before she could finish her sentence.

"And this one," she said refusing to let herself think about how devastated she would be if she did lose this baby like the one she'd lost only a few years earlier. "I thought this would be a good one for you." She maneuvered through the website before she came across a "My Daddy's Love" picture with a beautiful poem written from the perspective of the baby whose love for his father was so overwhelming from the first moment of his birth. "I mean, I just...thought that, uh...we could do pictures of me and the baby in the other one, and pictures of you and the baby in..."

"You're babbling," he murmured, sitting up. "That usually means something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong." She said, shaking her head as she teared up.

"Yeah, I think something is," he said, studying her.

"It's just these damn hormones," she tried joke weakly.

"Sam," he rebuked, gently.

She felt her facade crumble slowly as Jack moved the computer from her lap. "I'm scared," she sobbed into his shoulder as he pulled her close to him. "I can't lose this baby."

"I know," he murmured as he ran his fingers through her hair. "That's why we want you to slow down, okay?"

"But when I stop," she choked out. "I think about how close I came to losing you, and how much..." She broke into another round of heartwrenching sobs.

"Sh," he whispered, holding her tightly. "You're okay...you'll be okay."

-

Jack sat at the kitchen table as he heard a soft knock at the front door and saw Cassandra poke her head into the house. "Hello?" She called.

"In here, Cass," Jack murmured from the nearby kitchen.

"You look horrible," she admitted as she took a few more steps into the house and closed the door.

"Nice to see you too," Jack said with a wry smile.

"No," Cassandra said, shaking her head in embarrassment. "That's not what I meant, I just..."

"I know." Jack said, more soberly. He looked down at the kitchen table. "What I wouldn't give for a drink right about now."

"What happened?" Cassandra asked, more seriously.

"Nothing." He said, shaking his head.

"Don't give me that bull," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Sam's fine; I'm fine," he corrected. "It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Sam broke down about how she'd feel if we lost this baby too."

"Oh," Cassandra murmured in understanding as she sank into one of the kitchen chairs. "How's she doing now?"

"She's fine. Asleep."

Cassandra nodded slowly before she studied Jack. "How about you?"

"Honestly, with all of the stress around here lately," Jack sighed. "I'm surprised the kid's hanging in there as well as he seems to be."

"Well, one of the reasons I'm here is because I want to make sure Sam takes it as easy as her doctor tells her to take it."

"She hates that term," Jack said with a fond smile as he remembered the time that she'd been sent home because of "stress" and come back to the base with an honest-to-goodness alien who'd been living in her home. "And she refuses to take up knitting."

Cassie grinned in appreciation at his joke.

"Maybe I can get her to pull out the cello again," he murmured, thoughtfully. "I mean, as soon as she's officially cleared from bedrest."

"That would be a good idea," Cassandra said, nodding. "Any word on how this most recent episode is going to affect her command?"

"By now, Landry probably knows," Jack said, shrugging. "Which means that he's probably got a temporary commander until the doctor clears Sam, but...after that, I don't know."

"We'll figure something out," she said, soberly. "Now, I'm gonna get my stuff down to the guest room while you rest."

"But I'm not..."

"You've had a draining few hours too," she said, gently. "Just go lie down for a little bit, okay?"

"Okay," he murmured, too tired to fight with her for long.

Cassie watched him walk into the master bedroom before she sighed softly. She had her work cut out for her.


	34. Cassandra

_"Mrs. O'Neill," a voice beckoned her from her slumber. "Mrs. O'Neill, you have a visitor."_

_Sam opened her eyes somewhat reluctantly to find a nurse standing over her. "Who is it?" She asked though her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls. Had she been drugged? Where was she being held?_

_"General," Dr. Lam greeted with a smile from beside her in the isolation room. "It's all right. You're here at the SGC. You're in the infirmary."_

_"What happened?" She asked, almost afraid to hear about what had occurred to put her here._

_"It's all right," Lam soothed. "You went into labor. That's all."_

_"Where's my baby?" She asked, instantly. "Where's Jack?"_

_"I'm right here," Jack said, appearing in the doorway. "As for Junior..."_

_Sam's brow furrowed. There was something wrong with this picture. Something horribly wrong with the way that Jack was looking at her._

_His eyes glowed. "He was very helpful in saving me from my heart attack."_

_The dizzying memory of a goa'uld being pulled from her stomach terrified her as she tried to wrestle away from the nurse and doctor, who had instantly attempted to restrain her._

_"She has filled her purpose," the goa'uld in her husband announced in a gravelly voice. "Kill her."_

She screamed as she shot up, breathing heavily.

Jack shot up beside her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he murmured, instantly at her side as Cassandra hurried in from the kitchen.

"What's going on?" She asked, a wooden spoon in one hand.

"You are never calling our baby "Junior" ever again," she managed as she looked into the face of her concerned husband.

His brow furrowed as she inhaled, trying to calm herself down.

"Can I get you anything?" Cassandra asked, studying her closely.

She nodded as she tried to recover from the shock of her dream. "Glass of water. Th-that'd be good."

"Sure thing," Cassandra said, slipping out of the bedroom.

"What's going on, Sam? You've never screamed like that...not even after you got back from Fifth..."

She shuddered involuntarily at the memory of her capture. "I had given birth. But not to a human baby - to a goa'uld." She began. "And you came in, but you weren't you...the goa'uld had been the one thing that could save you from your heart attack."

His face became instantly more sober as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "That's awful," he murmured, soothingly. "You okay?"

"I'll get there," she managed, breathing deeply.

"Here's your water," Cassandra said, bringing back a glass of the clear liquid.

"Thank you," Sam said, gratefully.

"Mom?" Grace asked, poking her head in the master bedroom as Doc followed.

"Grace, honey," Sam murmured as she swallowed her sip of water. "How was your day at school?"

"Fine," she said with a shrug. "Are you okay? I thought I heard you scream."

Sam cursed herself internally before she shook her head. "I'm fine, angel. Just a bad dream."

Grace nodded in understanding as Sam patted the bed beside her. "Come on, kiddo. Up here. What happened at school today?"

Grace climbed onto her parents' king-sized bed as Doc hopped up and snuggled into the covers. "Nothing much," she shrugged. "We did our Astronomy lesson again today." She shook her head as if she was almost in a state of disbelief. "Man, I wish I could see those people's faces when they find out what REALLY happens in space!"

Sam and Jack raised their eyebrows.

"What?" She asked, defensively. "I'm not going to tell anyone anything. I just really, really, REALLY want to be there when they realize that my parents are the ones who started exploring the galaxy when the Stargate was opened!" Her enthusiasm made both of her parents smile. "Then, they'd know that even Dad knows more about the universe than Mrs. James."

"Grace, she is your teacher," Sam admonished with an amused chuckle.

"I know that," she said with an exasperated sigh. "But she doesn't know anything about astronomy. I mean, she calls asterisms "constellations", for cryin' out loud."

"So do a lot of other people, angel," Sam said with an understanding smile.

"What?" Jack asked, confused. "I don't get it...what's the difference?"

Sam looked over at her husband. "When you look up at the night sky, and you see Orion's Belt, you're looking at an asterism. The actual image in the sky. The Big Dipper, Cassieopeia...all of those configurations are asterisms."

"Then, what's a constellation?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the actual section of the heavenly sphere that asterism belongs to," she said with a shrug.

"See?" Grace asked, seriously, before her dad could offer even a sarcastic "ah". "It's easy!"

Sam tried to stifle a smile as she could see the confusion clouded in her husband's eyes. "Not exactly." Sam bit her lip as she thought of a way she could try to explain it to her husband. "Look, try to imagine that you have a pie."

"I like pie." He said as his ears perked up.

Sam laughed softly. "I know, but that's beside the point..." She set her hands in the air in front of her as she pretended to outline the circular pie with her hands. "Now, imagine that I've cut this pie into eight slices. But each slice has an image cut into it."

Jack nodded slowly.

"Saying that an asterism is a constellation is like saying that the picture of a cherry that's cut into one of the slices is the slice itself." She studied him as she waited for some sign of his comprehension. "Got it?"

"I think so," he said, still somewhat confused.

"Each of these slices," she continued. "Each of these constellations...has an asterism, or a picture, carved into it."

"Ah." He said as each piece of the analogy finally clicked in his head.

"You need to explain that to my teacher." Grace said, shaking her head, seriously.

"You should take pie." Jack said, looking over at his daughter with only a marginally teasing smile on his lips. "Everything makes more sense with pie."

Sam grinned as she shook her head. "Grace, I think you're just going to have to suffer in silence," she laughed.

"Grace!" Cassandra called. "Dinner!"

"YES!" Grace called, running out to the kitchen.

"What do you think it is?" Jack asked, looking over at his wife.

"If my nose serves me correctly, and it usually does these days," she began, sniffing the air. "Chicken teriyaki, fried rice, and steamed green beans."

"Chicken teriyaki!" Cassandra announced as she brought the couple their plates.

"You're so good," Jack said, shaking his head, as he saw every predicted item on the plate which Cassandra offered him.

Sam grinned as the other woman's brow furrowed. "What's going on?"

"I just predicted dinner," Sam laughed. "Thank you, heightened pregnancy smell! Hasn't served me well until now."

Cassandra laughed softly as Jack snorted, both in amusement.

"Eat your dinner," the future doctor ordered as she shook her head and closed the door.

"This smells so good," Jack admitted as he instantly dug into the plate of food. "Do you know how long it's been since I had any semblance of Asian food?"

"Since the heart attack," she said, knowingly. She sat back against her pillows as she began to push the food on her plate around. "So, you really didn't know about the difference between asterisms and constellations?" She asked, surprised.

"Hey, I'm just a closet star observer. I don't read books about them or anything."

"I just figured that with all you knew about singularities..." Sam said, pointedly.

"Hey, you had just explained that to me when I came to you with the report in an absolute stupor," he reminded her.

She grinned in amusement. "That's right. You used to come to my lab at least once a day with a new question about the science behind the program. What's a wormhole? What happens when we open the Gate? Why does the Gate spin?"

He shrugged. "Hey, I can't help that you're so darned attractive when you explain things to me in terms that I can understand."

"So, that's why you did it?" She asked in amusement.

"Yeah." He said, nodding.

"Unbelievable," she laughed softly.

He grinned.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," the couple called in unison.

"Can we eat with you?" Grace asked, poking her head in again.

Sam grinned as Cassandra follwed. "Sure. We'll have a picnic on the bed."

"How was your day, kiddo?" Jack asked as he took a bite of the chicken.

"Good." Grace said with a grin. "I got a hundred percent on my spelling test."

"Did you?" Sam asked, enthusiastically. "That's great!"

She grinned. "I was the only one too!"

"Well, that's fantastic, angel!" Sam said with a proud smile of her own.

Grace chattered away about her day, but Sam found her attention slowly being diverted to the silent Cassandra who was slowly picking at her food.

Sam shared a concerned look with her husband, who stood almost instantly. "Come on, Grace, I think I could go for some air hockey, and you're the reigning champion, so I'm playin' you."

"Okay," Grace said, climbing down off the bed. "Can I take my plate?"

"Sure. As long as you eat the rest of your dinner before bed." Jack said as he led her from the room with Doc trailing behind them.

Cassandra reached for her plate and stood. "Well, I guess we'll let you rest," she said, giving Sam a worn smile.

"Not yet," Sam said, softly. "Have a seat."

Cassandra sighed softly before she did as she'd been bidden.

"We haven't gotten a chance to talk yet." Sam explained, gently. "How are you?"

"Fine," she quipped quickly as she looked down at the bedspread on the king sized bed.

"Cass," she prodded.

Cassandra looked up with a small sigh. "Keeping busy around here helps." She admitted.

"I know how that goes," Sam confessed.

Cassandra bit her lip before she looked back up at Sam. "How can something that wasn't working hurt you so badly when it's finally over?"  
Sam shrugged. "That's the sixty-four million dollar question, and if you figure it out, let me know. It would make half of my adult life make sense."

Cassandra managed a small smile.

"But I'm living proof that if you hold out for the right guy, he'll come even when you least expect it."

Cassandra nodded slowly.

"Hey, have you thought about how you're going to get a residency at the Academy hospital?"

Cassandra nodded. "Yeah. I filled out an application for a transfer to Colorado Springs upon graduation."

"Great." Sam said, excitedly.

Cassandra managed a more light-hearted smile. "You just want me close by."

Sam grinned. "You've got me figured out, kid." She sobered. "Cass, I'm about to offer to do something that I almost killed my father for doing..."

"You're going to offer to help me get what I want," she said, keenly.

"Only if you want it." Sam explained. "Unlike my father, I'm not going to cram it down your throat."

Cassandra smiled appreciatively before she nodded. "I'd appreciate the help."

"I'll make some calls," she said, nodding supportively.

"That would be great."

"Cass, we really appreciate your willingness to come and help out," she said, soberly.

"Hey, didn't you drop everything and come down to help me once?"

Sam smiled softly as she remembered the few months she'd lived in the Las Vegas area and worked at Area 51 while sharing a home with Cassandra, and on the weekends, Jack. "It worked out pretty well for me," Sam said with a fond chuckle.

Cassandra smiled a sad smile before she reached for the dishes.

"Cass?"

"I think I'm tired from the long day. Maybe I'll do the dishes, take a bubble bath, watch a sappy movie, and go to bed."

Once again, Sam noticed the weariness in the young woman's eyes, and it was more than a physical sensation. "Get some good rest, okay?"

Cassandra nodded as she tried to muster a strong smile. "Will do."


	35. Christmas

"So much for Christmas at the cabin," Sam murmured as she rearranged the pillows behind her for the hundredth time since she'd been sentenced to bedrest.

"Sam..." Jack said with a small chuckle as he straightened up.

"I really hate the idea of just sitting here, and doing nothing except eat and sleep."

"You're doing more than that," her husband assured. "You're spending money by shopping on the internet too."

She glared at him.

"Look, we're making the most of it," Jack reminded her, gently. "You did the shopping, I'll do the..."elf"-ing tonight, and Cassie's doing the cooking."

Sam sighed heavily. "I haven't spent this much time in bed in..."

"Years. I know." He said, seriously. "The last time you were ordered to stay in bed for an extended amount of time was after you were shot by that Ori soldier."

"Oh, do you have to bring that up?" She asked with a groan.

"Note to self, don't mention the fact that we got engaged shortly after that encounter," Jack said, pointedly.

Sam sighed. "I'm sorry, Jack. I'm just...tired of being in this bed. I mean, I feel like a big lump who's not even the slightest bit attractive..."

"That's crazy," Jack said, walking over.

"But it's how I feel," she sighed.

He sat up on the bed, and gently pulled her to him. "You are very attractive," he murmured, quietly as he gently pulled the elastic from her hair as he had done just a few hours after they'd gotten married.

"Jack," she said with a derisive chuckle as she blushed.

"I'm serious," he said with a mischievous smile on his lips as he leaned over to kiss the tender flesh of her neck.

She tried to wiggle away from his attempts at romance. "Jack, what if Grace comes in?" She whispered, breathlessly. She cursed herself for not being able to hide how she felt about his long-awaited caresses.

"She won't," he mumbled between kisses.

"What about Cassandra?"

"Out shopping with Grace."

"Knock, knock," a voice called as their bedroom door was opened. "Sorry, are we interrupting?"

Jack pulled away from his wife, and Sam tried to hide a look of chagrin. "We forgot someone." Sam said, eyeing her husband who mirrored her look of irritation.

"We're interrupting," Vala said from beside him.

"No, please..." Sam said, turning from her husband. "Our house is your house. Besides, that went about as far as it could go under the circumstances."

Daniel blushed. "We just wanted to make sure you guys knew that we were here..."

Sam shrugged as she smoothed some of the wrinkles in the bed. "For all intents and purposes, this has become the living room lately. No one wants me to feel left out."

"Yeah, come on in, guys." Jack said, straightening up the cushion on the window seat in the small nook near his side of the bed. "Have a seat."

Daniel, Vala, and Teal'c all walked into the room, taking their places in the window seat and in the small sitting area nearby as Jack climbed back onto the bed.

"Where are Cassandra Fraiser and Grace O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, surveying the room.

"Last minute grocery shopping," Jack said with a small smile. "Cassandra's liked taking Grace all sorts of places lately."

"Probably takes her mind off of her failed engagement," Daniel said, knowingly.

Sam nodded. "Exactly. It's pretty much what I did after I broke up with Pete and after my dad died."

"Worked out for you."

"Ah, but I couldn't marry Pete because I had unresolved feelings for a certain someone..." She explained.

"Yes, but that puts you into her ex's position." Daniel said, pointedly. "Only you didn't ask the question."

"No, I didn't," she said, soberly. "But I did answer it."

Jack coughed, uncomfortably. "Anyway..."

"Anyway," Vala said, brightly. "Happy Christmas, everyone."

"Happy Christmas?" Jack asked with his brow furrowed in confusion.

"She watched some TV...caught the BBC somehow..." Daniel said by way of explanation. "Said something about how she felt more like she fit in with her accent..."

Sam tried to stifle her chuckle.

"Well, it's true, Daniel. I kept feeling like such an alien whenever you would speak with your particular accent, and then, I found a television station which features people who sound just like my mother's people, whose voices I am accustomed."

"You are an alien," Daniel reminded her.

"Daniel," Vala said with a warning tone in her voice.

"What?" He asked, raising his arms in confusion.

She rolled her eyes. "You spend so much of your time in your books that you probably wouldn't know if the rest of the SGC suddenly started speaking Gaelic."

"Ah, but that's because I, of all the people on the base, would still understand them." He retorted with a smirk.

"We're home!" Cassandra called from the entry.

"Guess where we are!" Sam called back, wryly.

Grace ran into the master bedroom. "Where's Doc?" She asked, energetically. "Usually he meets me at the door."

"Doc?" Daniel asked, reaching for a pocket-sized package of tissues somewhat nervously.

"We left him in the basement to keep Danny, here, from sneezing all day." Jack explained.

"Oh," Grace said, looking somewhat downcast, as Daniel managed a grateful "Ah".

"Where's Cassie?" Jack asked, looking over at his daughter.

"Oh, she's in the kitchen. I'm sure she'll be back when all of the groceries have been put away." She said with a shrug as she walked over to her mother's side of the bed. "Is the baby moving, Mom?"

Sam smiled as she nodded. "Come on up on the bed."

Grace climbed up to sit beside her mother before she placed her hand on her mother's small belly. She grinned, widely. "Hi there, little brother."

"Are you certain you will have a son, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, looking at his friend, curiously.

"Not...exactly..." He said, shrugging.

"Then, why does Grace O'Neill refer to the fetus as her little brother?"

"I had a dream about a little brother," Grace said without prelude.

"Dr. Meyers wants to schedule an ultrasound once I'm off bedrest." Sam said, stroking Grace's hair as she continued touching her mother's stomach. "We should find out for sure at that time." She looked over at Daniel and Vala. "What about you two? Have you found out whether you're going to have a boy or a girl?"

Vala became somewhat quiet as Daniel reached for her hand. "Yeah."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, noticing the change.

"It's a girl," Vala said as her face became somewhat expressionless.

"You're not excited?" Grace asked, studying Vala's look.

"Grace," Sam murmured, quietly.

"I think I'll see if Cassandra needs any help in the kitchen," Vala said, abruptly standing.

"Me too," Daniel said, following her out the door.

"What'd I say?" Grace asked, looking up at her mom, curiously.

"You know how your dad gets a little quiet when anyone asks about Charlie?" Sam asked, looking at her daughter.

"Yeah."

"Vala had a daughter, and she died." Sam said, succinctly.

"Oh." Grace said, softly. "But aren't you excited that the baby's a boy even though Charlie was a boy too?" She asked, turning to her father.

"Sure, I am." Jack said, nodding. "But Charlie died almost nineteen years ago, and Adria died about three years ago."

"And Vala doesn't like remembering her relationship with Adria." Sam finished.

"Why not?"

"Vala Mal Doran was not close to Adria like I am close to Rya'c, O'Neill was close to Charlie, or your parents are close to you." Teal'c said, soberly.

"I see." Grace said, nodding.

Sam smiled her thanks to the Jaffa, who returned a stoic, yet pleased, nod in her direction.

"I didn't mean to make her sad," Grace said, looking up at her mother.

"I know, angel," Sam said, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "And she'll be okay in a little bit."

"Hey, don't get too cozy there, kiddo," Jack said, lightly. "I still need your help."

"With what?" Grace asked, pulling away from her mother.

"With what?" Jack asked, incredulously. "It's Christmas Eve, but you wouldn't be able to tell from the look of the room. I need your help bringing the Christmas tree and presents in here."

Grace grinned as Jack turned to Teal'c. "We could use your help too, T."

"I would be most honored to help with the decoration, O'Neill," Teal'c said with a moderate smile.

"What can I do?" Sam asked, eagerly.

"Sit there and look pretty until I bring you the popcorn, cranberries and string." He said as he kissed her cheek.

"Jack..."

"Hey, you refuse to take up knitting," he teased.

She laughed softly. "Okay, I'll wait."

"Did someone say popcorn, cranberries and string?" Cassandra asked, bringing the supplies into the bedroom.

"Nice timing!" Jack laughed as he passed Cassandra.

Sam shook her head as she waved Cassandra over. "Okay, kid. Let's get to work."

"Sorry, Sam, but I have Christmas dinner to put together," Cassandra said, shaking her head. "Why don't you turn on one of those cute Christmas specials, and string the popcorn and cranberries while you watch?"

"Fine, I'll look like an old woman," Sam said with a small sigh.

"I promise I'll come and hang out after dinner's ready." Cassandra said with a shrug.

"All right, all right," Sam said, waving her away. "I'll just stay here...all by myself..."

"I'm sure it won't be long before you're back to being the center of attention," Cassandra smiled, apologetically, as she slipped out the door.

"Yeah, right." Sam mumbled as she reached for the remote.

-

"All right, guys," Cassandra said, walking to where Jack, Grace, and Teal'c were gathered in the living room. "Sam's feeling all alone and left out. At least one of you should..."

"Sh." Jack said, putting his finger to his lips as he revealed his cell phone.

Stunned, Cassandra stopped. "What?"

"We're trying to get her a...what'd you call it, Dad?" Grace asked, turning to her father.

"Hello, Dr. Meyers, it's Jack O'Neill. How are you?"

"Reprieve," Teal'c furnished.

Cassie looked back at the bedroom. "You would have one very grateful woman in there."

"Indeed," Teal'c said as Jack moved into another room to finish his conversation with the doctor.

-

"All right, Carter," Jack said, walking into the bedroom. "Up and at 'em."

"What?" Sam asked, looking up from her craft in confusion.

"Get off your lazy ass, and get crackin'. It's Christmas Eve, for cryin' out loud."

"Excuse me?" Sam asked, blinking in incomprehension.

"Daddy called Dr. Meyers who said you could leave your room and go to the living room." Grace said, following her father into the master bedroom.

Sam's jaw dropped in surprise.

"You're still a little bit restricted," Jack explained. "You can walk to any room on this floor, but you have to sit for at least an hour in that room. And...I know you'll be sad to hear it, but this is instead of your daily shower and stretching allotment."

"I think that's a generous exchange," Sam said, still somewhat shocked.

"Sorry about the lazy ass stuff," Jack said, sincerely. "I shouldn't have said that."

Sam chuckled softly as tears welled up in her eyes. "I forgive you, Jack. This is the best Christmas present that anyone could ever give me."

He grinned. "These conditions last until December 26, so enjoy them while you can."

"Believe me, I intend to," she said, earnestly. "But I'd appreciate it if you could leave my bedroom while I change into something a little more...suitable for the occasion."

"All right, folks," Jack said, herding the group out of the room. "You heard the lady. Give her some room..."

"Jack?"

He turned back toward his wife, whose legs were dangling just above the floor as she prepared to stand. "Yeah?"

"I love you."

He grinned. "I love you too. You need some help?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Hollar if you do," he said, closing the door behind him.

Sam exhaled in satisfaction. She had the best husband in the all the three or so galaxies she'd ever visited.


	36. Bonding

"Dad?"

The soft sound made Jack awaken instantly with a sudden start. "Wha?"

All he could see was his wife's sleeping form. She'd had an exciting few days of freedom, but he could see at the end of them that she'd been somewhat worn out. Without a word, she'd retreated back to the comfort of her bed this morning for the duration of her bedrest. Now, she lay asleep.

"Dad," the insistent whisper came again, causing him to turn toward the sound's origin: his seven-year-old daughter.

"What is it?" He asked, swallowing as he looked over at her.

"I had a dream," she whispered, softly. "I can't sleep."

Jack nodded as he sat up. Careful not to wake his wife, he swung his feet over the side of the bed and slipped them into the slippers "Santa" had gotten for him only a few days earlier. He put a finger to his lips to shush his daughter as he walked past her and toward the door.

Grace was equally as cautious as her father, and in a few moments, they'd retreated to the kitchen and closed the door behind them.

"Okay, kiddo," Jack said, now fully awake. "So, you had a bad dream..."

"It wasn't exactly bad," Grace said, shrugging.

Jack raised an eyebrow.

Grace heaved a sigh. "Not all of my dreams are bad. Sometimes I like what I see, and sometimes I have to think about them for a long time before I decide..."

"This is one of those dreams?" Jack asked, curiously.

She nodded.

"Okay. You wanna tell me about it?"

She hesitated for a moment.

"C'mon, kiddo. It'll help if you talk about it."

"Okay," she said, bracing herself. "You asked for it."

Jack was somewhat confused as he watched her. She looked so grown-up, and yet so young as she tried to handle the burden of shouldering the world's problems.

"I walked into a room, but it was as if no one could see me." She began. "It kind of looked like our living room, except there was an angel on the tree instead of a star..."

Jack tensed slightly. On their first Christmas, he and Sam had fought about whether or not to have a star or an angel on the tree, but he'd finally prevailed when he admitted that he and Sara had kept an heirloom angel atop their Christmas trees during their marriage. They'd essentially compromised when Sam arrived at home one day with three glass angel ornaments.

A small smile flitted onto his lips as he thought of his wife. He loved her so much, he thought to himself for only the hundred time in the last few days.

"Dad?"

"I'm listening," Jack said, looking back at his daughter.

She nodded. "Okay. Well...anyway...you were there."

"Was I?"

She nodded. "And this other woman...not Mom...came and kissed you under the mistletoe."

"Now, Grace, you know..." Jack began, slowly.

"It was your first wife, Dad," she soothed. "I know you love Mom."

He breathed a small sigh of relief. "Of course...good..."

"Anyway, you guys were talking about something you'd gotten for Charlie for Christmas." She said, returning to her narrative. She paused for a moment with her brow furrowed. "Dad?"'

"Hm?"

"Is there a Santa Clause?"

His eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"Never mind." Grace said, shaking the question from her mind. "You and Sara got Charlie a bike for Christmas like you and Mom got me one this year."

Jack felt a knife-like pain in his chest as he remembered that Christmas. It was the last one before he died, though none of them had known that at the time. Come to think of it, that Christmas was the last time they'd all been together. Even he and Sara had never celebrated another Christmas together after that one.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Grace murmured, sensing his reticence. "I shouldn't have said anything..."

"Was that the end of the dream?" He asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

She bit the inside of her cheek before she shook her head.

"Well, keep going then."

"Then, Charlie came out into the living room and saw the bike. And he smiled. A big smile. Like you do sometimes, Dad."

For the first time in years, his son's face came to the forefront of his thoughts. He could remember every detail of that little boy's face. Especially his grin.

"Then, Mom walked into the room, carrying little Jacob in her arms, and she reached for my hand. She told me that it was time to celebrate Christmas...all of us as a big family."

Jack looked at her with his brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, at that point, Sara disappeared, but Charlie stayed, and you, Mom, Jacob, Charlie and I celebrated Christmas. Charlie and I rode our bikes and Jacob laughed and played with you and Mom." She looked down at her hands which were twisting around themselves, nervously. "It was nice."

Jack watched her closely. "I haven't told you much about him, have I?"

She shook her head. "I understand, though."

"Yeah, well, you understand a lot of things," he said with an affectionate smile. "But he is your brother, and I think you should know more about him than the fact that he also once got a bike for Christmas."

He won a reluctant smile from his daughter.

"C'mon. Let's make some smoothies, and I'll tell you about him, okay?"

"In the middle of the night?" Grace asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Uh huh." He said with a smile.

"Cool." She grinned.

Jack chuckled softly at his daughter's smile. "Yeah. Cool."

"Did you and Charlie do stuff like this?" She asked, curiously.

He nodded. "Yeah. Although it was usually when his mom was visiting her sister. And we didn't have smoothies, we had milkshakes...up on the roof while we looked at the stars."

Grace nodded, thoughtfully. "Moms don't always understand midnight smoothie parties," she agreed.

Jack laughed softly. "You catch on quick, kiddo."

"Dad, do you believe in heaven?"

He nodded as he pulled out the fruit, yogurt and juice. "Wouldn't be here talking to you if I didn't." He said, honestly.

She chewed on this for a few moments before she looked back up at him. "Do you...do you think my other mom and dad know about you and Mom?"

"Probably." He said, nodding again.

Grace's face showed her pensiveness.

"What is it, Grace?" He asked, looking over at her.

"Do you think they're mad at me?" She asked, timidly.

"What?" He asked, so surprised that he stopped what he was doing. "Never in a million years. What would ever make you think something like that?"

"I call you and Sam "Mom and Dad"," she said, softly as tears shone in her eyes. "And I love you like I used to love my other mom and dad...do you think that makes them mad?"

"You listen to me, Grace O'Neill," Jack said, kneeling down in front of her. "You listen carefully, okay?"

She nodded as the tears slipped past her eyelashes and down her cheeks.

"I'm sure they loved you very much," he said, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks. "And if that's true, they probably wanted you to live with people who love you as much as Sam and I love you."

She swallowed tears as she tried to stay brave for her father.

"C'mere," he whispered, wrapping his strong arms around his daughter.

She clung to him as she buried her face into his shoulder and cried. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered as her tears died down.

"I love you too, Grace," he whispered, softly. He paused for a moment. "Maybe the smoothies can wait until tomorrow morning. How about you come and sleep with Mom and me in our bed, hm?"

She managed a smile through her tears. "Okay, Dad."

He smiled as he stood again. "Let's clean up, and then...back to bed."

"Just wait 'til baby Jacbo comes!" Grace said, excitedly.

"Why?" Jack asked, looking at her in confusion.

"He's gonna be so excited that we have the best parents in the whole world!"

Jack smiled softly as he watched his little girl go about the clean-up. It seemed like only yesterday, she'd been a five-year-old riding atop his shoulders and calling him "Mr. Jack." Now, she was seven and helping to clean up what had nearly become a midnight snack while she chattered on about her baby brother. If he blinked even one more time, he could probably skip ahead to when she would ask him to walk her down the aisle and give her away to the man of her dreams.

"Dad?"

The voice woke him from his thoughts again. "Yes, kiddo?"

"We're done."

Jack looked around the kitchen before nodding. "So we are," he announced in agreement. "Come on. I think I promised you half of my half of the bed."

Grace giggled, though she covered her mouth with one hand as she tried to stifle the sound.

Yep. These were the moments he'd look back on and miss. And this time, he wasn't going to take them for granted.


	37. Work

"Well, Samantha," Dr. Meyers said, looking back at his patient as he dried his hands. "You're back in the clear."

Sam grinned as she looked over at her husband.

"Even your vacation on Christmas eve and Christmas day didn't set you back at all." He said, clearly pleased.

"So, I'm off bedrest?" She asked, eagerly.

He nodded. "Yes. And...as long as you're particularly careful, you can even go back to work part time."

"Really?" She asked, trying to disguise the excitement in her voice.

He chuckled. "Yes. As long as it's limited to twenty hours a week, and it's only during the day, it should be fine."

"That's going to be virtually impossible, Doc," Jack said, shaking his head.

"Well, if she overdoes it, she's probably looking at some more bedrest," he said, shrugging. "And that would probably last until the baby's birth, so...it's up to her."

"I'll be careful," Sam said, soberly.

"I'm sure you will be," the doctor said, nodding. "Besides, Carolyn Lam is on the base. I'm sure she'll make it her job to keep you out of the mountain if you've had your twenty hours."

Sam managed a proper look of chagrin.

Jack laughed softly.

"I'm going to ask the receptionist to schedule you for another examination approximately two weeks from today, and I'm also going to ask her to find out when you'd like to have the mid-pregnancy ultrasound." He said, efficiently.

Sam nodded, clearly excited at the prospect of the ultrasound.

"Do you have a preference? Boy or girl?" He asked with a small smile of his own.

"Not really..." Sam said with a shrug. "I just...have a feeling that it's going to be a boy."

"You'd be surprised how many women think they know," Meyers laughed. "And yet find themselves utterly surprised when they actually give birth or receive the ultrasound results."

Sam looked at her husband before she looked back at the doctor. "I'd be happy with a boy or a girl, but...like I said...I just have a feeling..."

"Well, maybe you'll prove me wrong," he said with a chuckle. "Go ahead, get dressed, and I'll have everything waiting for you at the receptionist's desk." He said, pulling the door closed behind him.

"So, you're headed back to work, huh?" Jack asked as he helped Sam get off of the examination table.

"Until I decide to put in for retirement," she said, nodding. "Why?"

"Just curious."

"Jack, I'll be careful." She promised.

"I know."

She sighed, noticing the silence he usually fell into when he didn't want to admit his concerns. "What is it?"

"Sam, you naturally push yourself. That's all."

"And now, I have rules." She said, logically. "I tend to follow those, remember?"

He nodded. "That's why I wasn't going to say anything."

"Besides, I figured that I could take a little time and ease into the whole work thing," she said with a shrug. "I don't think I should go back to the Mountain if I can't even handle walking around our house." She teased.

He smiled. "Yeah. Probably not."

She took a few moments to dress before she turned back to her husband. "Let's go make our appointments," she said, reaching for her appointment book as he opened the door.

"Mrs. O'Neill," the receptionist said with a smile.

"Hi, Linda," Sam said with a grin as she pulled the book out.

"The doctor would like to see you in two weeks."

"That's what he said," Sam confirmed.

"Same day, same time?" Linda asked, looking at the couple.

Sam looked at her book. "I think so. Jack's got an appointment with the cardiologist the next day at one-thirty...yeah, that should work."

"Awesome. I've got you down."

"Now, I'm supposed to schedule an ultrasound," Sam said, looking at the receptionist.

"Yep. The actual ultrasound will be done at the Academy hospital, so here's the information you need to go in and make an appointment."

"Thanks," Sam said, accepting the card as she studied it for a moment.

"I think that's all we need from you," Linda said with a smile. "We'll see you next week, then."

"Sure thing," Sam said as Jack followed her out the door.

"She's nice," Jack said as they walked toward the car.

"Yep." Sam agreed.

"Wild Blue Yonder" began singing from her work phone, and she looked at Jack for a moment before she reached for the phone. "Carter."

"General, I'm glad I caught you," Cam said instantly.

"What is it, Cam?" She asked, soberly.

"Ma'am, we may have found something that we need your help with."

"Is there a reason you're being cryptic?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You have to see it to believe it, ma'am," he said, seriously.

"All right. I'll be there in ten." She said, giving her husband an apologetic look.

"What is it?" He asked as she hung up.

She shrugged. "Cam insists that I have to "see it to believe it"."

"And if you'd been on bedrest?"

"I don't know what he would have done," she said, shrugging. "But I have to go."

"Then, I'm coming with you."

She nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"What have we got?" Sam asked, walking into her office with her husband following her.

"SG-13 went through to P4X 776. It was one of the Asgard Protected Planets," Mitchell said without preamble.

"So?" Jack prompted.

"As you know, with Vala's pregnancy and Colonel Reynolds and my temporary assignment as joint base commanders," Mitchell said, hesitantly. "The remaining members of SG-1 and SG-3 are assigned to other teams on a case-by-case basis."'

Sam and Jack nodded.

"This time, Teal'c and Neill were assigned to SG-13."

"And?" Sam asked, pushing the story along.

"As I'm sure you're aware, SG-1 has never visited this particular planet."

They nodded again, unsure of where this was going.

"One of the local men asked if they were from Earth," Mitchell continued. "Which, as you know, isn't as uncommon as I'm sure it used to be, but...he recognized Neill."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"General, you may want to sit down," he continued.

"I'm fine," Sam waved away his concern instantly.

"I was actually speaking to General O'Neill, ma'am," he said, soberly. "Though, it might be a good idea for you to sit as well."

Her brow furrowed as she complied. Walter brought an audio/visual cart into the office, pausing momentarily to say a brief hello to both generals before he bowed out of the room. "This is footage which was taken by SG-13's resident anthropologist, Dr. Hannah Rodriguez." He said, pressing play on the video playback.

"Dr. Rodriguez is going to video tape this, okay?"

"I know what a video tape is, Major," a young man with long sandy blond hair that fell down to his shoulders said, looking at Major Garringer.

"Right. You lived on Earth," the Major said, somewhat skeptically.

"Look, you probably think I'm crazy," the young man said with a token of understanding. "And if my dad was in your shoes, he'd probably say the same thing, but my name is Charles O'Neill, and I was abducted from Earth twenty years ago."

Sam tensed as she realized why the young man had looked so familiar. She looked over at her husband, who had turned white in absolute shock.

"All right, all right...who are your parents? Maybe we can track them down."

"Colonel Jack O'Neill...well, actually, his legal name is Jonathan, but he hates it, so he's been called Jack since he was a kid. My mom's name is Sara. Sara...I can't remember her maiden name...started with an "L", but...anyway...Sara O'Neill. Wife of Colonel Jack O'Neill. USAF."

Mitchell stopped the tape. "Lieutenant Neill requested that we bring him through back to Earth as he requested for further testing. Given the personal nature of the req..."

"Do it." Sam said, softly. "And...have someone find information for Tim and Sara Meyers..." She swallowed. "We might need it."


	38. Abduction

Sam tugged at the collar of her new maternity uniform, a shapeless navy blue jumper which she'd quickly grown to despise.

"After almost twenty years of working with him, I'm just now understanding Jack's aversion to dress blues..." She sighed as she stepped into Daniel's lab.

"Sam!" He cried, looking up. "I thought you were still on bedrest!"

"I was officially released today," she said with a tired smile.

"And you're here?"

"Mitchell called me in." She said as the smile faded from her face. "Which brings me to why I'm here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay..."

"Where's Vala?" Sam asked, looking around the cluttered lab.

"Napping. Why?" He asked, confused.

She shook her head. "Just wondering." She looked back at him. "I need you to come with me."

"Okay." He said, setting down his book. "What's this about?"

She inhaled and exhaled. "Charlie."

"Charlie who?"

"O'Neill," Sam said, seriously.

"You're joking, right?" He asked, dryly.

Her expression didn't change, and he sighed. "Okay...what's going on?"

She led him down the corridor, handing him a file as they walked. "Lt. Neill went on a mission with SG-13. There, they met a local who knew a lot about Earth."

"So?" Daniel said as his brow furrowed. "With our exploits in the galaxy, even the planets we've never visited usually have some sort of idea about who we are."

"I'm not talking about someone who knows that Earth exists, Daniel," she said, shaking her head. "According to the video playback, he recognized our technology and used some of our fairly modern vernacular..."

"And so did Skaara." Daniel continued.

"Daniel, he claimed to have lived on Earth." She said, soberly. "And when SG-13 asked about his background, he said that Jack was his father and Sara was his mother. He described Jack's feelings about his legal name and several other things with dead accuracy." She swallowed. "And...he looks almost exactly like Jack."

"Wait, what about John? Did he say anything?"

"He's the one who requested that Charlie accompany SG-13 through the Gate."

"What did Charlie say about him?"

"That he looked a lot like his father..."

"Oh boy...where's Jack?"

"In the observation room for the isolation chamber where they're keeping Charlie for the moment."

"Has anyone called Sara yet?"

"I had Mitchell hold off." She said, shaking her head. "I don't want to alert anyone until we know for sure what's going on."

He nodded. "No sense alarming her if something's not quite right."

"I just wish I'd had a chance to hear the news before Jack," she said, quietly.

"How's he taking it?"

She bit her lip. "Not well, I'm afraid. He's silent. Just stands there and watches him."

"Well, Charlie's death did happen nearly twenty years ago..."

"I know." Sam said, nodding. "But I can't send him in...I'm not even sure I can send myself in..."

"So you got me." He said in understanding.

Sam nodded. "Exactly."

"Okay. Anything you want me to ask him in particular?"

"I'm sure you'll come up with the right questions," she said, managing a grateful smile.

"And if not, you'll come up with some way to tell me," he said, knowing the whole routine far too well.

"Exactly."

"All right," he said, inhaling as they reached the isolation room door. "Let's go."

Sam sighed as she took the few extra steps to the observation room. She silently threaded her arm through his as they watched the interrogation.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson," Daniel introduced as he walked over to the young man who sat in the middle of the empty room.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Jackson," the young man said, amicably. "I'm Charlie O'Neill."

"Yes, that's what it says here in the report," he said with a small smile. "How've you been treated so far?"

"Fine." He said, noncommittally.

"Good." Daniel said, nodding, as he read the report in front of him. "Good."

"Look, I don't want to be a bother, but I've been away from home for twenty years, give or take, and I'd like to get home sooner rather than later."

Daniel looked at the young man, soberly. "Charlie, I know you have a lot of questions right now, but in order to help you, I really need you to answer some questions for me first, okay?"

Charlie looked somewhat uncomfortable before he nodded. "All right."

"How long have you lived on P4X 776?"

"You mean the planet where the team found me?" He asked as his brow furrowed.

"Exactly." Daniel said, nodding.

"Uh...I don't know how many years it's been on Earth, but I've been there since the Asgard dropped me off...uh, that was when I was about ten...just after I was abducted."

In the observation room, Sam turned to her husband. "Charlie was ten when the...accident...happened, right?"

He didn't respond, only watched the proceedings, expressionlessly.

"What happened when you were abducted?" Daniel continued.

"I don't know. Must have happened when I was asleep because all I remember is going to sleep one night in my bed, and waking up the next morning with these...green lights...floating around me."

"What happened the night before your abduction?"

"It was a day just like any other..." he said, shrugging. "I had played baseball with some friends just after school, and I got home in time for dinner, just like usual." He took a sip of the water which had been placed in front of him a few minutes before Daniel had arrived. "I watched some TV, got ready for bed, and then...I went to sleep. I mean, my mom came in and kissed me good night, like usual, and I looked up and counted the stars on the ceiling like I did everytime I had a hard time going to sleep..."

"Stars?" Daniel asked, surprised.

He nodded. "My dad and I found these glow-in-the-dark stars which he stuck on my ceiling." The man, in his late twenties, looked somewhat wistful as he recalled his childhood bedroom. "My dad liked the stars. Sometimes, when my mom was out of town to visit her sister, my dad would come in and wake me up. We'd make milkshakes and go up to the roof where he'd show me the constellations. You know...The Big Dipper...Orion...Cassieopeia." He smiled softly. "I loved the name Cassieopeia...I don't know why...just always loved it."

Sam studied her husband, soberly. Still no reaction from the retired Air Force general.

"What did your dad do for a living?"

"He was, twenty years ago, a Colonel in the United States Air Force...special ops."

Daniel continued to take notes of what the young man said in the confines of the isolation room. "How about your mom?"

"She stayed at home with me. Sometimes she'd work on the car if something was wrong with it, or she'd garden, but she was a terrible cook. Always forgot when something was in the oven."

"What about these...Asgard...you said took you?" Daniel said, giving no indication that he knew anything about the race.

"Oh..." He said with a sigh. "I guess they were scientists. I managed to figure out that they were trying to study the human race because they were dying...something about how they'd evolved beyond the reproductive cycle..."

"He knows a lot about the Asgard," Sam said, not even bothering to look at her husband anymore.

"Yeah," he said almost too quietly for her to hear.

"And so they abducted you for study?"

Charlie nodded. "That's what I guess...just didn't realize it would be such a long-term project."

"Did they give you any indication of how long the process usually took or if this was the norm?"

"I remember one day they'd forgotten to put me back in stasis." Charlie said, seriously. "The head scientist...I forget his name...Loti or something..."

"Loki?" Sam murmured under her breath. "I think we know that one..."

"Anyway, he was talking to the other Asgard. They were worried about something. I mean, they don't show emotion very well on their faces, but you can tell when someone's worried..." Charlie explained. "As far as I can remember, he said something about how something had changed, and that they'd have to take me with them. Then, they put me back into stasis."

"So, that's when they took you to P4X 776?"

Charlie nodded. "I woke up at this house...there was a man and a woman. They called me "Child of the Gods" because I'd been gifted to them by Thor...or that's what they said..."

"An experiment," Jack muttered under his breath as he watched the interrogation. "They stole my kid for a goddamn science experiment."

"Jack," Sam murmured as she reached for him.

He stepped out of her reach, walking out of the observation room, as she sighed and rubbed her face. This was going to be a long day.


	39. Reunion

"Cassandra, I need to ask you a favor," Sam said with a small sigh from where she stood in her office, talking to her surrogate daughter on the telephone. "Something's come up, and I need you to watch Grace for a little longer."

"Sure, I'll watch her."

"Thanks, Cass."

"No problem." The young woman assured. "Is there anything wrong?"

"That's a loaded question," the general sighed. "I'll try to explain later."

"Sure. No problem. Just take it easy, okay?"

"I'll try," Sam said, hanging up the phone before she looked through the window to the group that was sitting around the briefing room table.

She inhaled before stepping out of the office and taking her rightful place at the head of the table. "All right, Daniel, what have you got?"

"Well, as far as I can tell, it's an Asgard abduction gone wrong," he said, soberly. "We already know that they had a rogue faction of scientists who studied human evolution by abducting individuals for one week and replacing them with a clone for the duration of their experiment. And Charlie did identify Loki, whom we know was one of the big players in the group."

Sam nodded. "Yes, I heard that."

"It seems that this Charlie was abducted less than a week before the clone shot himself. That would explain the panic that Loki and the other scientists felt, and it would explain why Charlie was never returned to his home."

Sam looked over at her husband, who sat silently in the chair beside her own.

"I guess the only way to know for sure would be a DNA test. See if we can match his DNA to Jack's and Sara's."

"I don't think we need to get Sara involved right now," Sam said, soberly.

Jack looked over at her, incredulously. "You don't think she needs to know that the son she thought was dead is alive?"

"I didn't say we shouldn't tell her," she explained. "I said I don't think we should tell her yet. Am I the only one who remembers her reaction the last time we came to her with official business?"

All members of the original SG-1 team fell silent.

"I think we should think of something to verify his identity that doesn't involve getting her hopes up." Sam finished.

Jack stood, and walked over to the window overlooking the Stargate, clearly agitated by the conversation.

"What are we going to do if he's not who he says he is?" Mitchell asked from where he sat, silently, in the corner, observing the original team do their work.

Sam hesitated as she allowed her eyes to travel to where her husband stood. She looked back at the Colonel. "We'll cross that bridge when, and if, we ever get there."

He nodded, and Sam turned to Daniel. "Thanks for the interrogation. I think I'll take it from here."

Daniel nodded. "You know where to find me if you need me."

"And I appreciate it," she said with a grateful smile.

"Are we just going to leave him in that isolation room?" Neill asked, looking over at Sam.

She shook her head. "I've made arrangements to have some of our VIP quarters prepared for him. I don't want him leaving the base until we know for sure that he's not a threat, but I don't want him living in that isolation room for the rest of his time here unless he turns out to be a charlatan. I was actually about to take him to his quarters."

"Allow me," Teal'c offered.

Sam shook her head. "Not this time, Teal'c."

He bowed his head, graciously, as she stood. The rest of the table stood as well, though they stood still. "Something wrong?" She asked when she realized that no one had left.

"I take it that we're dismissed?" Mitchell asked, amicably.

"Oh, yes..." she said, nodding as she blushed in embarrassment. "Of course. Do what you need to do."

She stepped away from the table before pausing to look at her husband for a moment. She sighed softly and walked into her office.

"General Carter?"

Sam turned to find Teal'c right behind her. "Teal'c," she said with a tired, yet warm, smile. "How can I help you?"

"I wish to be of assistance." He said, seriously.

"I know," she said, nodding. "Everyone has been really great, but..." She sighed. "I just don't know what there is to do..."

She looked back out the door to where her husband stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the Stargate operations. Undoubtedly, he was reconsidering the last twenty years of his life. Almost all of which included her. She closed her eyes as she tried to push away the feeling of abandonment she'd begun to feel with how easily he'd managed to avoid her words or even her touch.

"Keep an eye on him?" She asked, motioning to the retired general with a slight nod of her head. "He doesn't want anything to do with me, and..."

"I will," Teal'c said, soberly.

"Thanks, Teal'c." She said as tears of gratitude welled up in her eyes.

"If I can be of any further assistance?"

"I'll let you know," she promised.

He bowed before leaving the room.

"General?"

Sam turned to find Walter at the other door. "Yes?"

"It's lemon chicken today in the mess hall. Would you like me to have them send you and General O'Neill a plate?"

She swallowed down her overwhelming gratitude for the gate technician as it threatened to spill down her cheeks in another wave of grateful tears. "Yes, Walter. That would be nice."

"Anything else? Jello? Cake? Pie?"

Sam turned back to look at her husband. "Cake...chocolate, if they have it."

"Yes, ma'am."

-

Sam walked slowly down the corridor to the isolation chamber where Charlie had been kept. She closed her eyes as she prayed for strength.

"Ma'am?" The SF at the door asked, quietly.

She nodded her approval to have them open the door.

"Yes, ma'am." He said, quickly allowing her access to the room.

She took a step inside as Charlie stood. "General," he greeted instantly.

"Charlie O'Neill?"

He nodded.

"I'm Brigadier General Samantha Carter," she said, forcing a smile to her lips. "I'm the commander of this base."

"That's what I figured, ma'am." He said, nodding. He shrugged with a self-effacing smile. "I am an Air Force brat after all."

Sam managed an amused smile, though she studied her stepson closely. "You're so much like your father," she whispered, unable to keep herself from the utterance.

He looked up in absolute shock. "You know my dad?"

Realizing what she'd just admitted, she hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yeah."

"How?"

She played with her wedding and engagement rings for a moment, a nervous habit she'd fallen into around the time of her engagement and marriage. "He and I, uh...worked together...for a long time."

Charlie seemed to accept the explanation as he nodded thoughtfully. "How is he?"

"He's okay," Sam assured him. "He's not as young as he thinks he is, but...that's just Jack."

Charlie chuckled softly. "Mom always said that there was a part of Dad that never stopped being ten years old."

Sam laughed. "That's exactly it."

Charlie's laugh subsided, and he eyed the one-star general for a moment. "With all due respect, ma'am, why are you here?"

"I'd like to escort you to our VIP quarters." She said, becoming equally as straight-faced as Charlie had become.

"VIP quarters?" He asked, surprised.

She nodded as she motioned to the corridor. "If you'll follow me?"

"How long has this project been operational?" Charlie asked as they walked.

"That depends on how you define the term "operational"," Sam said with an amused smile.

"Oh?" He asked, confused.

"There were many attempts to discover what the Stargate was," she explained. "But the first roundtrip mission through the Stargate was in 1994." Sam sobered considerably as she recalled what a nightmare Jack's life must have been when he went on the first mission. "The team was led by an archaeologist and an Air Force Colonel, and it took place only six weeks after his son, Tyler Charles O'Neill, accidentally shot himself with the Colonel's personal firearm."

Charlie paused and turned to face her. "Me?"

"Presumably it was your clone," she said, shaking her head. "But up until about three hours ago, we had no idea that there were two of you."

"Clone?" Charlie asked, confused.

"Thousands of years ago, the Asgard began cloning themselves in an effort to lengthen their lifespan indefinitely." She explained. "At the time, it seemed like a perfect plan. They would live forever, and there were few, if any, side effects. Unfortunately, their race evolved with each clone. The changes were hardly noticeable, but after several millenia, they found that they had evolved past the ability to reproduce naturally."

"They couldn't have kids?" Charlie asked, curiously.

She shook her head. "None of them could."

"Wow."

"As you can imagine, this was a big problem. And it wasn't the only one. Each clone of the original became more and more unstable as the process continued. By the time we met them, they were on their way to extinction."

"You met the Asgard?"

She nodded. "It was your father who introduced us to them, actually."

Charlie's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

She nodded. "On a standard recon mission, your father had a massive database of information downloaded into his mind. It began unspooling slowly, but as it did so, it literally rewired his mind like someone was rewriting the basic code of a computer's programming. Within a couple of days, he had lost the ability to speak English and communicate with anyone besides Dr. Daniel Jackson, the archaeologist he'd first gone through the Stargate with."

"Daniel Jackson...that's the guy who interrogated me, right?" Charlie asked, trying to put the puzzle pieces together.

Sam nodded. "Our team grew close over the years. We're practically family, your dad, Daniel, Teal'c and I."

"Teal'c?"

"A Jaffa who deserted to our side," she supplied. "Anyway, the information in his mind unspooled in such a way that Jack began creating a device which we couldn't identify. It turned out to be a power source, and he went through the Stargate to an unknown address."

"The Asgard?"

She nodded. "They removed the information from your father's mind, recognizing that it had been slowly killing him, and he became something of a legend." A small half-smile flitted onto her lips. "He tries to make himself seem like he's nothing special, but Thor was adamant that he was an advanced specimen when it came to the evolution of human physiology. Surviving with that information in his mind for as long as he had attracted the attention of the Asgard to Earth and your father in particular. Thor, the supreme commander of the Asgard fleet, took it upon himself to be Jack's protector, and in return, we tried to help them where we could."

"Thor..." Charlie sighed, softly.

Sam looked at the young man, recognizing his conflicted feelings about the Asgard in general. "Charlie, I know you probably aren't fond of the Asgard as a race, but if it wasn't for Thor, your father would have died several times over."

"Yeah..." He said, obviously not willing to credit the Asgard with any positive achievements.

"I don't believe for a second that Thor had anything to do with your abduction," she said, earnestly.

"Then, how do you explain that I was a "gift from Thor" to my adopted family?" He shot back.

"I had Daniel check it out," she said, prepared for the question. "The planet you were on worshipped Thor as their primary god, correct?"

He nodded.

"That's something that Loki would have known," she said, soberly. "And I'm sure he dropped you off there, knowing that Thor was too busy to micromanage the lives of his, uh, worshippers. For all Thor knew, you were probably some orphan that had landed in their care by natural means."

Charlie was silent.

"You know, your dad and his clone could probably relate to your feelings about Loki and his tricks," Sam said, releasing the information with a small sigh.

Charlie's head snapped up.

"Lieutenant Neill?" Sam continued. "He's your father's clone. He's much younger than your father as I'm sure you could tell since he's younger than you are, but Loki, recognizing your father's advanced evolution, snuck back to Earth to find the answers to his race's degredation in your father's DNA."

"And did he find it?" Charlie asked, rolling his eyes.

"No. Thor stepped in, and took Loki into custody. At your father's request, Thor also repaired the damage which Loki had done to the clone. As you can see, Neill is living his own life."

"Some life," Charlie said, looking away. "Spending the rest of your life in the shadow of what you had been and could have become."

Sam swallowed. "I doubt he allows himself to think of it that way," she said as they reached his quarters. She opened the door, and allowed him into the room. "Charlie, I know you've been through a lot, and that there's a lot to process, but..."

"How long have you known my dad?" Charlie asked, interrupting her.

Sam tensed. "Excuse me?"

"You're not just one of the people he had on his team, General." He said with a knowing glance. "How long have you known him?"

"We met in '97." She said, soberly. "It's 2013. We've known each other for...a little over fifteen years."

"And you've been married for how long?"

She tensed. "How'd you guess?"

"I asked you how you knew my dad, and you played with your wedding ring." He said, soberly.

She inhaled as she nodded. "We'll celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary in only a couple of weeks."

"Ah."

"When your clone shot himself, your parents' marriage fell apart." She explained. "Your father blamed himself, and your mother blamed him too. And by the time he'd returned from the first Stargate mission, they'd had enough. By the time I met him, three years later, they'd been divorced for a while."

He fell silent for a few moments as he paced, restlessly, around the VIP room.

"How's my mom?" He finally asked as he picked up and threw down one of the throw pillows on the bed.

"She's doing pretty well as far as I can tell," she said, honestly. "She's remarried, herself. To a doctor."

"Do you and my dad have any other kids?" He asked, looking over at her seriously. "I mean, besides that baby..."

Sam smoothed her jumper over her belly, gently, as she nodded. "Her name's Grace. We adopted her after our first year of marriage. She's going to be eight soon."

"What about my mom?" Charlie asked, sitting down on the bed. "Does she have any more kids?"

"I don't know." She said, soberly.

"I shouldn't have come back," he murmured to himself. "I'm just going to mess everything up."

"Don't even think that again," Jack said from where he'd appeared in the doorway.

Sam tried to touch his arm to offer her support, but he strode into the room, not even stopping to offer a smile or any comfort for the pain she had in her own heart.

"Dad." Charlie said, standing instantly.

The two men stood, looking at one another for a few moments before Jack wrapped his arms around his son. "God, I missed you, kid."

"Me too, Dad." Charlie managed, following through on the hug as he clung to his father tightly. "I missed you too."

Sam watched the scene with teary eyes before she slipped out of the room, unnoticed. She looked down at her swollen belly, and gently ran a hand over it. "Looks like it's just you and me, kid," she murmured. "At least while your dad's trying to figure out how he feels about what..." She thought of her daughter at home, and quickly amended her statement. "Looks like it's just you, me, and Grace, while your dad tries to figure out how he feels about how the last twenty years of his life have unfolded..."

She sighed. Even the possibility that Jack was unhappy with the way the last twenty years had turned out made her shiver as if she stood in the middle of a snow storm, wearing nothing but a summer outfit.

A soft kick from her unborn child met her hand, and she smiled softly as she looked down at the soft bump. "Don't worry, kiddo, your dad won't be questioning how he feels about you," she murmured to herself. She inhaled and exhaled for a long time. "It's me that he's pulling away from."

Feeling a headache coming on, Sam made her way to her own quarters. It might be better to make herself scarce before she was emotionally pushed away again by her husband.


	40. Insecurity

"I was afraid you wouldn't want to talk to me," Charlie said, sitting down on the bed as his father sat beside him. "I mean, after Sam told me what had happened..."

"Yeah, well...those were dark times," Jack admitted.

"I can imagine." Charlie said, earnestly. "I saw what happened to couples any time a child died in the village. Sometimes, they bonded closer together, and other times they drifted further apart."

Jack sighed. "Your mom and I had problems before your clone killed himself," he said, soberly. "One of them was my job...she never complained, but it's difficult to be on the same page when you're never sure whether or not you're going to be in the same hemisphere for more than a few days at a time."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah."

The men fell into an uneasy silence. So many questions needed to be asked, but they didn't know where to start. Truth be told, they didn't even know if they really wanted to know the answers.

"So...General Carter..." Charlie began. "Sam. She's your..."

"Wife." Jack said, nodding. "Yeah."

"How did that happen?"

"You know, I'm not even sure sometimes," he said, honestly. "I've served with other women, and..." He shrugged. "I don't know. There was just something different about her from...well, the first day we met, honestly. We worked together for a little less than ten years. After that, we dated for a little more than a year, and were engaged for...uh...two years...and we've been married for almost four."

"Why the long engagement?" Charlie asked, looking over at his dad, curiously.

"In that two years, she was on assignment for a lot of the time. I was at the Pentagon, she was here, and then, she was on Atlantis, and then...she was back here, and after several months of that, she was reassigned to the _George Hammond, _and we got married about a month before she deployed for that. I guess we were just never in the same place at the same time for more than a few weeks..."

"The _George Hammond_?" Charlie asked, confused.

"Oh...space ship." Jack explained.

"Ah." Charlie said, nodding. He paused for a moment before he looked at his dad. "You were at the Pentagon? YOU flew a desk?"

Jack nodded. "The things we do for love," he said with a wistful smile. "I was the General overseeing all of the projects pertaining to alien technology or alien devices."

Charlie's eyebrows shot up. "General?"

Jack nodded, proudly. "Retired after I got my third star."

"Three stars?!" He asked, incredulously. "I remember when Mom would tell you that you'd be lucky to get ONE."

Jack laughed softly. "Yeah...your mom knew what a pain in the neck I could be. Fortunately, the big wigs in DC didn't care."

"Wow." Charlie said, shaking his head. "What was it like?"

"Boring," Jack said, honestly. "All I did was fill out paperwork. The ONE thing that I did that was any fun was accompany Sam and her team to watch Ba'al's execution."

"You were there?" Charlie asked, almost in awe. "I'd heard he'd been executed, but none of us ever met anyone who'd actually witnessed it..."

"Well, there was a reason I wanted to go," Jack said, more soberly. "The snakehead captured and tortured me. Now granted, if I'd followed my gut, I wouldn't have been there to be captured, but then again, I wouldn't be here talking to you either."

Charlie's brow furrowed in confusion.

Jack sighed. "I was host to a Tok'ra for a little while. I'd gotten very ill, and the Ancient who was around at the time hadn't gotten around to healing me. So...at Sam's suggestion, I said yes."

"A Tok'ra, huh?" Charlie asked, studying his dad. "I'd heard of them. Good guys who were physiologically like the goa'uld, right?"

"Depends on how you define "good guys"." Jack scoffed. "But Sam's dad wasn't too bad...most of the time. I mean, we had our disagreements, but...that's just life."

"Sam's dad?"

Jack nodded. "He became a Tok'ra after he nearly died of lymphoma. I guess he felt pretty close to his symbiote because he chose to die with him rather than let Selmak take his own life early enough to keep the toxins from plaguing Jacob."

"I'm sure that was hard for Sam," Charlie said, thoughtfully.

"Yeah, it was, though she'd never let any of us see it. She hates being vulnerable."

Charlie bit his lip. "Dad?"

"Hm?"

"How does she feel about me being here?"

Jack inhaled. "I don't know, son. I haven't really had a chance to talk to her."

"You didn't have a chance or you wouldn't take the time?" Charlie asked, soberly.

Jack looked down at his hands. "A little of both, I guess." He admitted.

"She's special, Dad."

Jack nodded. "Let me guess, you don't want me to lose her like I lost your mom, huh?"

"Exactly."

Jack patted his son's knee as he stood. "Okay. Okay. I get the hint. You're tired of your old man."

"Never." Charlie said with a smile.

"Look, when Sam gives the clear, and you can live off base, you've always got a place at our home, okay?" He said, soberly.

"Thanks, Dad." Charlie said, gratefully.

"Maybe we can take you out for dinner tonight? Still like Chinese?"

"Are you kidding? I haven't had anything except potatoes and rice and beef and chicken and vegetables...I haven't had Chinese since I was on Earth last."

"Then, we'll try to find some good Chinese," Jack said with a grin as he stood at the doorway.

"Sounds like a good time." Charlie said with an enthusiastic grin.

Jack nodded, happily. "Yeah."

"Love you, Dad."

"Love you too, Charlie."

Jack stepped out of the elevator and began his walk toward the Control room as Daniel passed him. "Jack!"

"What is it, Danny?" He asked, barely pausing.

"Where are you going?"

"To see my wife."

"She's not up there."

Jack turned back to the archaeologist. "Where is she?"

"Last time I saw her, she was headed to Charlie's room."

"Just came from there," Jack said, shaking his head. "She's not there."

"You just saw Charlie?" Daniel asked, surprised. "How'd that go?"

"Uh...well..." Jack said, shrugging. "How'd you think it was going to go?"

"I don't know." Daniel said, shrugging.

"Look, I need to find Sam. I need to ask her something..."

"And I don't know where she is," Daniel said, honestly.

"Well, thanks, anyway, Danny." Jack said, turning back toward the elevator.

"Jack?"

The retired general turned. "Yeah?"

"You've been sensitive to the fact that this isn't easy for Sam either, right?"

Jack's brow furrowed. "Huh?"

"I mean, we all know that if Charlie hadn't died, you'd still be with Sara, so...this whole thing is probably making Sam a little...insecure right now..."

"What do you mean you know that if Charlie hadn't died, I'd still be with Sara?" Jack asked, looking at Daniel in surprise.

"Isn't that true?" Daniel asked, looking at his friend. "I mean, you wouldn't have been suicidal, you wouldn't have blamed yourself, you wouldn't have come to the Stargate program, you wouldn't have met me, and you certainly wouldn't have met Sam...as far as we can tell, you'd still be with Sara."

"Danny, Sara and I had our problems even before Charlie died. This was just kind of the...last straw..."

"I'm just telling you what it has seemed like for the past twenty years to the rest of us."

Jack sighed as he thought about his wife. "You really think Sam thinks that? That she's only my wife because Charlie died? That I would have been happily married to Sara if that hadn't been the case?"

Daniel shrugged. "I don't know exactly what's going on in her head, but I would think it's a distinct possibility."

Jack cursed internally. "Let me know if you find her."

"Sure thing."

An insistent knock on the door woke Sam from her troubled sleep. "Go away," she murmured to herself.

"Sam, it's me!" Jack called through the door as he pounded on it again. "We need to talk."

Sam forced herself to sit up. "I'm coming," she called back.

She opened the door, and Jack took a moment to study her. "You okay?"

Sam bit her lip. "Fine. Just tired. You know...pregnant and all that..."

"Have you been avoiding me?" He asked, soberly.

"No." She said, shaking her head at the irony of his question. "I'm the one who's been trying to reach out to you. I'm not the one avoiding anyone in this relationship."

Jack winced as he heard the borderline bitterness in her tone. "Look, Sam, I'm sorry, but..."

"I know." She sighed as she sat down on the bed. "Charlie's back, you're confused, and you're just trying to wrap your head around everything."

"Yeah," he said, closing the door before sitting beside her. "It's been tough, but Danny reminded me that this probably isn't easy for you either. And Charlie wasn't sure how you felt about him coming back..."

"I'm not sure he likes me," she said, honestly. "I mean, if my dad had remarried, I'm sure I wouldn't have been much better, but..."

"He likes you. He's just confused right now."

"Common condition," Sam said, softly.

Jack nodded as he wrapped his arm around her. "Yeah."

She inhaled. "I figure we've got as much proof as we can get before doing a DNA test," she murmured to her husband. "We should probably call Sara..."

Jack nodded. "Yeah. But that doesn't have to happen just yet if you're not ready."

"This isn't about me," she said, standing. "I'll call Mitchell and ask him to get Sara and Tim here."

"What aren't you telling me, Sam?" He asked, sensing that there was something just beneath the surface with her.

She looked back at him for a moment before she sighed and began. "I don't need much, Jack."

"I know."

"I know that one of the reasons Sara left was because she couldn't handle how little communication you offered her. And I'm trying to be understanding and give you your space, but..." She felt the tears return to her eyes. She'd hoped that she'd cried all of the tears earlier before she'd fallen asleep, but obviously that hadn't been the case. "But since we found out that Charlie might be here, I've been trying to reach out to you, and you ignore the effort. I mean, it's one thing if you're not ready to talk but you usually at least acknowledge that I'm trying..."

The tears overwhelmed her, and Jack stood, wrapping his arms around her. "C'mere," he murmured as he pulled her closer.

"What am I supposed to think," she whispered. "I know we're only together because of what happened to Charlie, and..."

"That's not true," Jack interrupted forcefully as he pulled away and looked into her tear-stained face. "I love you."

"We wouldn't even have met if Charlie hadn't died," she whispered.

"You don't know that," he said with a tender smile. "And as fantastic as Sara was...I'm not in love with her anymore. I'm in love with you, and I will always be in love with you."

She offered him the same tender, yet sad, smile she'd offered him when they'd been trapped on opposite sides of the goa'uld force shield so many years before. "I love you," she admitted, quietly.

"I love you too," he whispered, pulling her back into a strong embrace.


	41. Family

"Cassie?" Grace asked, looking up at the young woman. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

"I don't know. They said they were going to meet us here, and that they were bringing a surprise." Cassandra said, looking at her watch. They'd asked her to bring Grace and meet them at P.F. Chang's where they'd apparently made a reservation for a party of five.

They'd been able to go to their table without a hitch, but so far, there had been no sign of the O'Neills and their third party.

"Can I get you something to drink?" The waitress asked, stopping at their table.

Cassandra shook her head. "We're still waiting for the rest of our party."

The waitress nodded before going to another table.

"They're late," Grace murmured, tapping her finger on the table cloth.

Cassandra nodded absently as she turned to look at the reservation table where the maitre d' was greeting one of the guests, a man in his late twenties or early thirties with sandy blond hair. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd seen him before. Especially since she'd spent so much of her time in the eastern United States lately.

The maitre d' pointed in her direction, and she turned her gaze away. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to think that she'd been spying on the other guests.

"Charlie?" Grace asked almost in surprise.

Cassandra's brow furrowed as she turned to the little girl and followed her gaze. The man she'd spied only moments earlier was walking toward their table.

"Excuse me," he said, politely. "Uh...I was told that this is the table reserved for the O'Neill party?"

Cassandra nodded, slowly. "Yes, it is."

"The, uh...O'Neills are parking the car. They wanted me to come in and let you know that they're on their way."

"Charlie." Grace said, looking at him. "You're my big brother, Charlie."

The man, dressed in khakis, a dress shirt, and a dress jacket which looked only a little too big for him, and suspiciously like something that Cassandra had seen Daniel wear, turned a small smile to the young girl. "You must be Grace."

She nodded, enthusiastically.

"Grace," Cassandra scolded, gently, eying the stranger somewhat suspiciously. "This isn't Charlie. He died and went to heaven. He's not going to come back."

"He will if he never really went to heaven," the stranger said, looking at her in a way that made her spine tingle in a way she'd never experienced before.

"Excuse me?" Cassandra asked, turning her full attention to the stranger.

"Hey, kids!" Jack said as he and Sam approached the table. "You've met. Great! Sam was worried that this would be awkward..."

"Jack," Sam chided with an amused smile as she shook her head. "Sit down."

"It's Charlie, isn't it?" Grace asked, turning to her parents as they sat down.

Cassandra waited for the inevitable explanation as to this young man's perfectly explainable resemblance to the O'Neill family.

"Yes, Grace," Sam said, nodding. "It is."

Cassandra blinked as she looked up at her friend and mentor. "What?"

"Charlie O'Neill," the stranger said, offering his hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you..."

"Cassandra." Jack supplied. "Cassandra Fraiser."

"Cassandra." Charlie said with a small smile.

"My name is Monica, and I'll be your server for the evening. Can I get you something to drink?" The waitress asked, returning to the table.

"Hell yeah..." Cassandra murmured. "And whatever it is...make it a double."

"So, let me get this straight," Cassandra said as they drove home from the restaurant. "Charlie didn't die twenty years ago like we all thought. He was abducted by the Asgard?"

Sam nodded.

"And the boy who shot himself with Jack's gun..."

"Was a clone." Sam finished.

"And you haven't told his mother yet because..."

"Jack thought that maybe we should let Charlie celebrate his return a little before we opened that particular can of worms." Sam explained.

"So, he's back...and everyone at...the Mountain...know?" Cassandra asked, looking back over at Sam for confirmation.

"Correct."

"And I thought my story was hard to explain."

Sam chuckled softly.

"How are you going to explain this, Sam?" Cassandra asked, soberly.

"I don't know." Sam said, honestly.

"And what kind of past is he leaving behind if he comes back?"

"I don't know." Sam said again.

"And you're certain that he's what he seems to be? That he's not some...charade or something or other to get your secrets?"

"I don't know." Sam sighed. "But we are professionals, and have become rather skilled at sorting these problems out ourselves."

Cassandra managed a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Sam chuckled.

Cassandra looked back at Grace, who had fallen asleep in the backseat of the car. "Grace was sure happy to see him."

Sam smiled softly. "Yeah. I think she's always wanted to get to know him."

"Now's her chance, if he is who he says he is." Cassandra said, soberly.

They pulled into the driveway, and Sam turned to the young woman who had practically been a second daughter to her. "Cass?"

"Hm?"

"Charlie's got you off-balance. Why?"

Cassandra looked over at Sam before she swallowed. "I don't know...I just...feel like he's hiding something."

"Like what?"

"Twenty years...he was on that planet for twenty years...why'd he come back now?"

"Cass, we hadn't ever been to that planet before," Sam said with a small laugh.

"But he knew who you were, right?"

"Of course, but there are a lot of planets around the galaxy who know who we are. Even ones that aren't directly connected to our allies like that planet happened to be."

Cassandra sighed. "I don't know...call it intuition, but...there's something he's not telling us."

"But besides that?" Sam asked with a slightly amused smile.

Cassandra blushed. "I think he's...kind of...attractive..."

"Thought so," Sam said with a small chuckle.

"He is SO not my type, though," Cassandra defended as she helped get Grace into the house.

"Oh, and what is your type?" Sam asked trying to keep from laughing aloud.

"People who practice full-disclosure."

Sam shook her head as she pulled the covers down for Grace as Cassandra slipped her between them. "He's a good guy, Cass. And given a little more exposure, I think you'll see that."

"I'm always willing to admit I'm wrong," Cassandra admitted as she followed Sam out of the room. "But I'm still getting over a pretty serious relationship. The last thing I need right now is another man in my life."

Cassandra turned toward the door to the basement, and Sam shook her head. That girl was something else.

"So, you were on that planet for like...twenty years..." Jack said as he drove Charlie back to the base. "Did you ever do any dating?"

"Dating wasn't exactly the same as what you picture here, Dad."

"But..."

"I had a few women in my life."

"But no one to settle down with, hm?"

"I guess it's possible that I just never met Mrs. Right," he said, shrugging.

"It happens," Jack said, patting his son on the shoulder. "Who knows? Maybe she's here on Earth."

Charlie's eyes grew sad as he nodded. "Maybe."

"Hey, maybe you'll run into that girl from your class...what was her name? It started with a...C..."

"Collette." Charlie said with a small smile as he thought back through the years. "I was going to marry her."

Jack grinned. "Yep. Held a playground wedding and everything," he laughed.

"Mom tell you that?" Charlie asked, looking over at his dad.

"Oh, yeah."

Charlie managed a thin smile as he looked out the window during the drive. Unable to stop himself, he found himself thinking back to the reason he'd been so willing to uproot his life and return to Earth. She'd understand, he hoped as he looked up at the night stars.


	42. Revelations

"General Carter," one of the SFs greeted as he knocked on her office door.

"Yes?" She asked, looking up from the troubling reports she'd been reading from the members of SG-13.

"Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson have returned with Dr. and Mrs. Miller as you requested."

Dressed in her BDUs, ready for the day's challenges, Sam stood. "Thank you, airman. Are they on their way to the briefing room?"

The airman nodded.

"All right, let's close the blast doors so that they can't see the view...at least not yet anyway..."

"Yes, ma'am."

She reached for the telephone. "Walter? Send General O'Neill to the briefing room, please? And have our guest standing by."

"Yes, ma'am," he said as she hung up.

She inhaled as she noticed Daniel and Mitchell's arrival into the briefing room with Sara and her new husband.

Both civilians had perplexed looks on their faces, and Sam sighed. This was going to be sticky.

Holding her head high, she stepped out of her office and walked toward the guests. "Tim. Sara. Thanks for coming." She turned to Daniel and Mitchell. "Thank you for escorting them down here. You're dismissed."

"You're the one who ordered us down here?" Sara asked, surprised, as Daniel and Mitchell left. "Why?"

"We'll get to that in a moment," she said, motioning them toward the briefing room table. "Can we get you anything? Water? Coffee?"

"We're fine," Tim said, shaking his head.

"Of course." She said as Jack arrived in the room. "Shall we sit?"

Sara eyed her ex-husband as she sat down at the table. "What's going on here?"

Walter walked up to Sam as she turned and offered her the two confidentiality notices which they'd prepared for the couple, and she offered them to the civilians. "What we're about to discuss is classified top secret under the National Security Code under section 11C9." She said, soberly.

"National Security?" Sara asked, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell do we have to with national security?"

"Sara," Tim said, looking at his wife.

"I know, I know..." She said, waving his concern away. "You probably know something about what's going on because you've probably treated some of the women here, but..."

"Sara, please," Jack said, looking at his ex-wife.

She sighed. "This probably has something to do with that damn Stargate thing that other guy was ranting about last time I saw your team..."

"Just sign the papers," Jack said, soberly.

"Fine." She said, quickly signing her name to the bottom of the paper in front of her. "Now, what?"

Sam inhaled, looking to her husband for some support before she turned back to the couple. "In 1994, two men, an Air Force Colonel and an archaeologist, led a team through a device which had been discovered nearly a hundred years earlier in Giza." Sam began. "When they stepped out to the other side, the team discovered that they were on another planet."

Sara's eyes widened in surprise.

"It was supposed to be a one-time mission which would eliminate any extra-terrestrial threat which we might find on the other side," Jack said, honestly. "But it didn't turn out that way."

"That was why they reactivated you?" She asked almost silently.

He nodded, slowly.

Sam inhaled, waiting for the group to be ready for the rest of her story. "About three years after that first mission, the Pentagon asked Major General George Hammond to oversee the program. It wasn't supposed to be opened back up, but we found ourselves faced with a more pervasive threat than we'd first anticipated, and so, in 1997, the Program was reopened on a more permanent basis."

"That's about the time that, uh...guy...came asking for Charlie." Sara said in recognition.

Sam and Jack both nodded.

"Is this something to do with him?" Sara asked, perplexed.

Sam looked at Jack before she turned back to Sara. "No," she said, soberly. "It has to do with Charlie."

Sara paled before looking at her ex-husband. "Tell me that this is some cruel joke..."

Jack shook his head. "Sara, he didn't die."

Tim's eyes widened. "How on Earth is that possible?"

Sam opened her mouth.

"I held him in my arms, Jack," Sara said, fighting back tears. "I tried to tell him that it was going to be all right even though I knew..."

She broke down, and Tim wrapped his arms around her.

"Look, we know how this sounds," Sam said, earnestly. "But Charlie is alive...and I'd like him to tell you where he's been for the last twenty years."

Sara pulled away from her husband as Charlie stepped into the room.

"Hi, Mom," he murmured softly.

She just stared at him for a few moments as tears pricked at her eyes.

After what had seemed like an eternity, Sara stood and walked toward her son. She touched his cheek and studied his features in absolute shock. "Charlie?" She whispered, looking into his eyes.

"It's me, Mom," he assured, soberly.

"But how..."

"In the course of our explorations, we came upon an alien race who studied other races from a distance." Sam supplied. "There was a rogue faction of scientists in the race who would abduct human beings for a period of seven days, leaving in their place a clone."

Sara gaped at Sam, almost in a stupor.

"Our working theory is that while Charlie was being observed and studied by these scientists, his clone shot himself with Jack's gun. When the clone's life signs were not responsive, the aliens decided that they could not risk the exposure of their experiments, and took Charlie to another planet to live out the remainder of his days."'

"What they didn't count on," Charlie said, picking up where Sam had left off. "Was that Earth would begin exploring the galaxy through the Stargate. Or that Dad would be one of the experts in Gate Travel."

"Kidnapped by aliens?" Sara asked, shaking her head as she took a step back from her son. "Do you guys realize what you're expecting me to believe here?"

Sam looked at her watch. "We have a team leaving on a standard recon mission in approximately five minutes. Why don't you watch them?"

"We can do that?" Tim asked, surprised.

She managed a small smile. "If it will help you believe our story, yes."

Sam turned to the posted guard who pressed the button to remove the window coverings. "Come on," she invited, motioning the party to the window.

"How much of this did you know about?" Sara asked, turning to her husband.

"I only knew there were experiments," Tim said, shaking his head. "That there was some sort of military-science hybrid operation happening down here. That's it, I swear."

"You'd be surprised how many aliens you've treated, Dr. Meyers," Sam said with a small smile. "Dr. Lam tells me that you're one of the doctors she keeps on call in case we have refugees who have come through the Gate and need an obstetrician."

Tim shook his head in astonishment as he and Sara reached the window. The lights on the ring began lighting up one by one as the Gate began its dialing sequence.

Sam turned to see Sara's eyes widen in disbelief.

"How does that thing work?" Tim asked, looking over at Sam.

"Careful," Jack said, putting a hand on the doctor's shoulder. "You don't want to ask her that question unless you want to know exactly how that works down to why the event horizon is blue."

Sam chuckled as she shook her head. "He's exaggerating."

"He does that," Sara said with a faint smile as she looked over at Sam.

"So I've noticed," Sam said, returning the smile as they all looked back at the Stargate, which had just activated its seventh chevron.

The initial jet of the event horizon had both Meyers reacting instantly.

"It's okay, Mom. It won't hurt you." Charlie said with a small smile.

She returned it before turning her attention back to the scene just a few floors beneath them.

The Major leading the team, motioned for his team to enter the Stargate's event horizon, following the last member of his team. Seconds later, the event horizon fizzled out, and Sara gasped. "They're gone!"

Sam smiled. "Yep. By now, they're across the galaxy."

"But how..."

"The Stargate creates a wormhole outside of subspace which transports matter across the galaxy in a matter of seconds rather than an endless number of lightyears."

"In English?" Sara asked, blinking in confusion.

Sam chuckled softly. "It basically creates a tunnel outside of the normal flow of time which allows matter to travel from one place to another almost instantly."

"Ah." Sara said, nodding.

"It's okay to still be confused," Jack said with an amused smile. "Sometimes it still confuses me, and I've actually been through that thing..."

Sara smiled in appreciation as Charlie sobered considerably.

"Mom," he murmured softly.

Sara turned to her son as Sam and Jack looked at one another. "Why don't we give you a few moments alone?" Sam said as she led Jack back to her office.

"Nicely done," Jack said as they reached the office.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking at him, perplexed.

"You handled the whole ex-wife/obstetrician/classified information thing very well," Jack said, honestly. "I was impressed."

She smiled, gratefully, as she sat down. "Well, thank you."

"How're you doing?" He asked, studying her closely.

"I'm fine," she said, running a hand over her belly. "A little tired, but this whole situation was a little messy..."

"A little?" Jack asked, skeptically.

"Okay, okay," she laughed softly. "A lot."

"Still, I think she's taking it a little better than I thought she would," Jack said, sobering slightly.

Sam nodded. "I think you're right," she agreed. "But let's be honest, so did everyone at our house."

Jack nodded before smiling. "Grace....I love that kid."

Sam grinned. "Yeah, she's pretty special."

"It was like...she'd been waiting for it."

"But Cassandra..." Sam said, biting her lip uncomfortably.

"What about her? I thought her questions were all right, and they she was okay for the rest of the evening..."

"Actually..."

"What?" Jack asked, surprised.

"It's probably nothing," Sam said, shaking her head. "It's probably just the shock of everything..."

"What?"

"She thinks he's hiding something...some sort of "real reason" that he's here."

"What kind of real reason?" Jack asked as anger bubbled up inside him. "The fact that he was stolen from his home as a child isn't enough?"

"Jack..." Sam tried to soothe.

"No, I want to know!" He cried. "What makes either of you think that he's here for any other reason?"

Sam inhaled as she reached for one of the reports she'd received from Dr. Rodriguez and the rest of SG-13 after they'd finished their mission earlier that day. "Major Garringer was somewhat skeptical about Charlie's motives as well," Sam said, handing him one of the files. "So, he asked some questions..."

Jack opened his mouth to retort.

"According to the locals, when he was young, he attempted to gate through to Earth on many occasions. Run away, if you will." She interrupted.

"Any kidnapping victim would do the same," Jack said, eying his wife. "I mean, how many times have we done the same thing when we were captured?"

"I'm not finished," she said, raising a finger. "When he was about fifteen, it stopped."

"Five years is a long time to try to break free," Jack countered.

She nodded. "Yes, it is. One might assume that he grew to like his adoptive family, but when his adoptive parents both died when a fever spread through their village several years ago, he didn't try to leave."

"So?"

"By then, the locals say that he'd gotten married."

Jack looked out the window at his son, who was speaking with his mother. "He lied to me."

Sam was silent as she waited for his response.

"I asked him, and he said he must not have met Mrs. Right."

Sam inhaled as she reached for Dr. Rodriguez's file. "Jack...his wife died in childbirth about eight months ago."

Jack turned slowly to look at her. "What?"

"The baby didn't make it either."

Jack felt a deep pain in his heart as he contemplated the loss that his son had just felt. A loss that he knew all too well.

"You think he's trying to run away again?" Jack asked, softly.

"I don't know." Sam said, honestly. "Maybe he's coming to find some comfort...but I think there's more to the story than what he's telling us."

Jack nodded slowly as he acknowledged that Cassandra's theory was more than a little sound.

Sam stood and walked around to the front of her desk. "You okay?"'

"FIne," he said standing as he retreated inwardly. "Just...realize what a broken relationship I have with my son..."

"Jack..."

"Sam, he lied to me. He didn't think I would care or something...I don't know. But he's probably out there, telling Sara about how much he loved this woman, and he can't bring himself to look weak in my eyes by crying for a lost life..." Jack swallowed. "He's my son. I love him, and I've always loved him, but I did something to convince him that I don't and didn't."

"I don't think that's..." Sam began.

"Maybe I should go home. Cassandra's getting ready to go back for that last semester...maybe I should offer to help."

"You're doing it again," Sam murmured as he turned to leave.

He paused before turning back to her. "I don't know what else to do, Sam. You need to be here, and I...I can't..."

She walked over and wrapped her arms around him. "I know this is hard," she whispered. "And you can leave if you need to, but...just don't forget that I'm here for you, okay? I'm strong enough to carry us both for a little while..."

He managed a half smile. "Thanks, Sam."

She kissed him gently. "I'll have someone drive me home, so you don't have to worry about coming back to get me, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay."

"Love you."

"Love you too."


	43. Memories

Daniel knocked on the open office door, causing Sam to look up and motion him into the room.

"Thank you, sir," she said, turning her attention back to the telephone conversation she was in the middle of. "I'm sure it will be greatly appreciated."

She listened on the phone for a moment before she smiled softly. "Thank you, sir. It's been an interesting few days around here, but nothing we can't handle."

"You too," she murmured after a brief pause before she hung up the phone and turned to Daniel. "That was the Pentagon. They've agreed to help Charlie set up a place here on Earth if he wants to."

"That's great." He said, enthusiastically.

"There are a few people at my house who will be excited about it," she said with a soft laugh as she sat down in the chair behind the desk. "What can I do for you?"

"Um...just came to see how you're doing. I mean, you were released from bedrest just yesterday."

"I'm fine," she said, honestly.

"You sure? I mean, you had a stepson practically resurrect from the dead yesterday."

She nodded. "I've been very careful," she assured. "Walter's brought me healthy meals without fail, and I've set an alarm on my cell for when I need to go home. And another one for two hours later in case I ignore or forget the first one."

Daniel chuckled softly. "Okay, okay," he smiled.

She bit the inside of her cheek. "What do you think of Charlie?"

"What do you mean?" He asked as his brow furrowed.

"Just your...general impression..."

"Nice guy." He said, shrugging. "A lot like Jack..."

She sighed, closing her eyes. "You don't know the half of it."

"What do you mean?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

She bit her lip. "According to some questions which Major Garringer and his team asked around the village after Charlie came through, he lost his wife and baby daughter in childbirth approximately eight months ago."

Daniel's jaw dropped. "You're kidding."

Sam shook her head. "Apparently, in trying to make conversation last night, Jack asked him if he'd had any serious relationships in the time he spent on that planet..."

"And?"

"According to Jack, he mumbled something about apparently finding the right girl, and evaded the question."

Daniel shook his head. "Unbelievable...almost exactly like Jack."

Sam nodded again. "Like the rest of us would feel if this was Jack..."

"Jack's feeling betrayed."

"And rehashing every bad thing that ever happened in his relationship with Charlie, afraid that he distanced himself from his son in such a way to make any sort of true bonding to take place now."

"Did Charlie tell Sara while she was here?"

"From what I can tell?" Sam asked, biting her lip nervously. "I don't think so, but...I don't exactly want to walk into that mine field unless I have to."

"No kidding." Daniel said, seriously. "You want me to go and talk to him?"

Sam shook her head. "No, I can do that. I just...apparently, while we were at dinner the other night, Cassandra could tell that he wasn't telling us everything that we needed to know..."

"She's perceptive like that, Sam."

"I know." Sam said with a sigh. "But I just feel like I should have been able to see it. I mean, it's my job to assess that kind of thing."

"Sam, you're removed from the whole situation to a certain degree," Daniel said with an understanding smile. "But you're not immune to it. I mean, Mitchell's probably the most removed from all of this besides Cassandra or Vala..."

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to talk to Charlie about the whole thing, and I'm sure it'll all sort itself out in time."'

"I'm sure you're right," she said with a small smile. "Now...to tell Charlie that he's free..."

Sam knocked on the door to the VIP suite, hoping that she had the right words to smooth over whatever rift had been inadvertently caused between her husband and stepson. Maybe she should have asked Daniel to talk to Charlie...

She looked down at her swollen belly as she shook her head. "It's not going to be too long before I have to do the same for you," she murmured with a half-smile.

"It's open," Charlie called from inside.

She reached for the door handle, looking up again. "Charlie?" She asked as she entered.

"Hey," he said with a smile that was identical to the one that Jack somehow shared with Grace.

"Did your mom leave already?"

"Yeah. She had to go into work. She wants to have lunch tomorrow though."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," she said, nodding.

"Thanks."

She nodded. "You're welcome."

"Something wrong?" He asked, noticing how distracted she'd become.

"Uh...no." She said, shaking her head.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

She chuckled softly. "Well, there is something that's bothering me a little..."

"Okay."

She bit her lip. "Last night, after dinner, Cassandra said that there was something you weren't telling us..."

"I've only been here for a day," he said with a small half-smile.

"Yes," she said, nodding. "But she seemed to think it had something to do with why you're here."

"Well, you caught me," he said, shrugging his shoulders with a smile the way his father did when he was trying to cover up a secret. "I was abducted from my family when I was ten years old, and when travelers came through that were from my home planet, I went through with them."

She turned a skeptical eye to him. "I'd be careful about using your father's tricks to fool me," she said, easily. "That's the nonchalant smile he uses when he's lying."

"I'm not my father." He said, shrugging.

"No, but you're a great deal like him," she said, soberly. "Which is why you didn't tell us about your wife and baby daughter dying eight months ago."

The facade fell instantly. "Who told you about Guinevere?"

"Major Garringer's team asked some more questions while they were finishing up their mission. I didn't ask them to do it, but it is standard procedure when we invite anyone through to Earth." Sam said, honestly. "Why didn't you tell us about her?"

He sat down on the bed, looking down at the floor. "Guin was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She had this...red hair that fell down in soft curls to her waist. She usually wore it in a braid with these...green ribbons that matched her favorite dress. Her father was one of the town elders, and she was the closest thing to a princess that the area had ever had, and every man in town was in love with her."

Sam sat down on the bed beside him as she listened to his story.

"I know everyone was surprised when she chose me...I was still an outsider to most of these people...but I think she chose me because I was so much different than everyone else. I worked in the fields of my farm every day, but at night, I was kind of like the groundsman for her father. I'd tend the rose bushes and the other flowers he kept by his doorstep, and when I'd finished for the day, I left a bouquet of her favorite flowers on her windowsill. After a while, I guess she realized it was me because she started leaving me little...tokens...in their place when I'd come to care for the grounds."

"What kind of tokens?" Sam asked, recognizing the tenderness of his memory.

He smiled softly. "Well, at first, she baked my favorite foods - pie, this great dish with lamb and potatoes.... Then, she left me small...remembrances...a glove, a ribbon.." He retrieved a small comb from the pocket of his jumpsuit. "After several months of sending these tokens and exchanging letters with each one, she left this for me with a note saying that her father was pressuring her to choose one of her many suitors, and that she would require me to give this back to her in order for her plan to work."

Sam raised an eyebrow as he handed her the comb to look at. "It's very beautiful," she said, fingering it gently.

He nodded. "The next day, rumors were flying around that Guin had chosen her suitor. The official declaration was that the man who had the comb which her mother had worn at her wedding, would be given her hand in marriage. When I came forward, everyone was shocked."

"Because you were so foreign?"

"It was more than that," he said, seriously. "My adoptive father, who had died by that time, was far from the social circle that Guinevere's parents had traveled in. As a result, her father refused our marriage, and determined that she should marry a more suitable suitor, one of the sons of another elder."

"You're kidding..." Sam murmured, shaking her head.

"The wedding was scheduled for a few days later during one of the festivals. She showed up at my house the night before the wedding in tears. She said that she'd rather die than be married to another man." He sighed. "She had the entire town in a panic before her father came to my little farm. When he saw how serious she was about her desire, he changed his mind. He called the wedding off, and married us himself in my little house."

"Wow."

"She was a remarkable woman," he whispered, swallowing down tears as Sam returned the comb to him.

"What happened during the delivery?" Sam probed, gently.

"She went into labor prematurely," he murmured as he returned to the day of her death in his mind. "She'd begun bleeding in the night, and so I went off to fetch the midwife. By the time she'd gotten there, she determined that the baby had already died, and that Guin's bleeding was the first priority."

He closed his eyes as the memory began to tax his emotional strength. "There was so much blood..."

Sam closed her eyes at the memory of the miscarriage which had nearly taken her own life only two years earlier. For the first time, she had a glimpse into what Jack must have felt as he helplessly watched the doctors do their best to save her life.

"She held on until she had delivered our baby girl, but we didn't have to wait for the silence after her birth to know that she was gone...there was just a feeling...this knowledge that had settled on us that our daughter had died."

He had silent tears slipping down his cheeks as he relived the memory. "I cried as I held that perfect baby girl in my arms. She had such long fingers, and perfectly formed facial features. She was as beautiful as her mother. Believe me, I looked...to double check." He swallowed. "She was heartbroken by the death of our baby, but when I could see that she didn't even have the strength to cry with me..." He bit the inside of his cheek as another wave of pain overwhelmed him. "I knew..."

Sam felt tears slip down her own cheeks. "I think you'd be surprised how well both of your parents know that loss," she whispered, touching a hand to his shoulder.

"It wasn't because I didn't want to tell them, Sam," he said, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. "I didn't tell them because they'd already lost so much, and to know that they'd lost a daughter-in-law whom they'd never met and a granddaughter who'd never taken a breath..."

"They're stronger now, Charlie," she assured. "And I think, as your parents, they'd like to help you find the same strength that they found."

He managed a thin smile. "Maybe."

"Look, why don't you come home with me tonight, hm?" She asked, looking at him. "I think your dad would like to know what you just told me, and probably more...and you can stay with us until you get settled into your own place."

His eyebrows raised. "What?"

"My superiors authorized me to help you get anything you need to live here on Earth if you'd like to."

He managed a grateful smile. "That would be nice," he admitted.

"For us too," she said, softly.


	44. Quiet

"Thanks for the ride, Teal'c," Sam said as she stepped out of the SUV.

He smiled. "You are most welcome, General Carter."

"You could come in if you want to...I'm sure Jack would love to see you."

"I cannot," he said, regretfully. "But perhaps he and I can make plans for this weekend."

"I'll have him call you." She said, nodding.

She turned to where Charlie was standing on the grass. "You ready?"

He nodded. "Sure..."

She looked at how awkwardly Daniel's clothes fit on him. "Maybe we should take you shopping tomorrow. Get you some new clothes..."

He looked down at his outfit. "Probably. Dr. Jackson's going to want his clothes back before too long."

Sam chuckled softly. "Daniel practically lives on the base," she smiled. "He won't miss them until Vala tries to force him out for dinner or something like that."

"Vala?" He asked, confused.

"His...um..." Her brow furrowed. "Well, I'm not really sure what they are right now...I guess the best estimate is that she's his girlfriend..."

"Ah."

"Come on," she said, motioning to the front door. "Your dad's probably wondering what happened to us."

"Nothing more than an alien invasion," he said, cracking the smallest smile.

She laughed softly. "Exactly."

They walked into the house. "We're home," Sam called.

"Mom!" Grace cried as she ran down the hallway toward her mother.

Sam dropped her briefcase on the floor and tried to brace herself for the seven-year-old's impact. "Ooph," she exhaled as Grace hugged her tightly. "Hi, there, angel."

"Hi, Sam," Cassandra murmured as she poked her head around the corner.

"Hi, Cass. Charlie's here again," she said, removing her coat as Charlie did the same.

"Hi," he said with a timid smile.

"Hi," Cassandra said, eying him closely.

"Hi there, big brother," Grace said, throwing her arms around him in a big hug.

Despite his momentary surprise, Charlie returned the hug with a small smile. "Hi, there, little sister. How was your day?"

"Oh, it was good. Sara...my friend at school...thinks it's awesome that I have a new brother."'

Sam paused, looking at her daughter in surprise. "Grace, what exactly did you say to her?"

"Nothing, Mom," she defended. "Sara thinks Charlie is Cassie's new boyfriend."

Cassandra coughed in absolute surprise as Charlie grew suddenly uncomfortable.

"Grace," Sam said, shaking her head. "Go get your pajamas on."

"It's not my bedtime," she said, growing suddenly sullen.

"Then, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner." Sam said, gently leading Grace toward the bathroom.

"They're gonna get married anyway. Does it really matter if Sara thinks they're boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Cassandra managed to exchange an almost sick smile with Charlie as they stood in the hallway. "Uh...dinner? We're having..." She coughed. "Salmon..."

"Thanks," Charlie said, nodding quickly.

She hurried back to the kitchen, and Charlie followed behind slowly.

"Grace doesn't always know when to share her, uh, prophecies." Cassandra chattered nervously.

"She's seven," Charlie said, shrugging. "When I was seven, I didn't know when to say what either..."

"Yeah..."

He sat down at the bar. "You must have strong feelings against marriage for it to make you turn green like that."

She turned. "Excuse me?"

"You looked sick...like you were going to be physically ill at the prospect of marrying me."

"Oh, it's not..." She stammered. "It's n-not you. It's...I just got out of...my fiance dumped me to get back together with his ex-wife."

"Ouch." He said, nodding. "I'm a widower."

Cassandra looked up in absolute shock. "What? Jack never told me..."

"He didn't know. I didn't have the heart to tell him," Charlie said, looking down at the countertop.

"Recent?"

He nodded. "Eight months ago."

"What happened?" She asked, interested. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"Childbirth. My wife died in childbirth." He said, softly.

"And the baby?"

He shook his head. "Maybe if we'd been able to go to a hospital..."

"That's why I decided to go into medicine," Cassandra said, nodding. "So many people die because there aren't enough doctors. Not enough education to go around..."

"You're going to be a doctor?" Charlie asked, looking up at Cassandra.

She nodded. "I go back to school in a few days to finish up my degree, and then, I'll start my residency."

"Where?"

"I don't know yet," she admitted. "I hope it'll be here, but...you never know."

"No, I guess you don't," he said shrugging.

"I'm sorry," Sam said, walking back into the kitchen. "I don't know what came over her."'

Charlie and Cassandra turned small, understanding smiles to her. "It's okay," Charlie said with a shrug. "She's young. It happens."

"All the same, I, for one, would like to pretend that it never happened," she chuckled as she walked to the sink and washed her hands. She turned around as a fork whizzed into her hand. She blew a heavy sigh before she looked down at her stomach. "I know you're hungry. So am I, but you'll have to at least a little bit patient."

Charlie merely blinked.

"Never try to tell an O'Neill that it's not time to eat," Sam said, touching a finger to her forehead as she walked off.

"What, exactly, just happened there?" Charlie asked, looking over at Cassandra.

She chuckled softly. "That was the baby flexing his telekinetic powers."

"So, my dad and Sam have one kid who has the ability to see the future and another who has telekinesis?"

Cassandra nodded. "I think it all goes back to Jack's ATA gene and the evolution of the human race."

"AT...what?" Charlie asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"ATA. Um...I don't know what it stands for exactly, but it's basically the gene passed down from the Ancients to the present day."

"Ancients...who are they?"

"A race of beings that evolved ten or so million years ago. By the end of their lives, they transformed into pure energy and ascended to a higher plane of existence."

"Higher plane..."'

"You can't be confused now," Cassandra said with a small smile. "You have so much more to learn before you know everything."

"Heaven help me," he said with a winning smile.

"I don't think you need heaven," she said with a small smile of her own. "I could tutor you while I'm in the area, and I'm sure you'll get lessons from Daniel, Teal'c, Sam and Jack, too."

"And Mitchell, Neill, and..."

"Vala."

"Right."

Jack walked into into the kitchen. "Is there anything I can do to help you with dinner, Cass?"

She shook her head. "It's almost done."

"Got someone to set the table?" Charlie asked, standing.

"Now, I do," she said with a smile.

"Make that two," Jack said, looking at Cassandra.

She turned a grateful smile to him. "Thanks, guys."

"No problem," Charlie said with a small smile. "Now...where are the plates?"

"I'll show you," Jack said, walking over to the cabinet. He retrieved five plates and handed them to his son before reaching for the utensils. "What's for dinner, Cass?"

"Teriyaki salmon, fried rice and vegetables." She said with a grin.

"Yum." Charlie said as he walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

"That goes double for me," Jack said with a chuckle as he followed his son.

They began to rotate around the table as they set it in an awkward silence.

"Hey, uh, Dad..." Charlie said, clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"Yes?"

"Last night, you asked me a question, and I...wasn't entirely honest with you."

"Oh?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was married, but Sam probably already told you that."

"Yep."

"Look, I want to talk about her," he said, softly. "But...I wasn't sure how you'd handle the fact that, uh, in addition to the twenty years we lost as a family, you'd also lost a daughter-in-law whom you'd never met and a granddaughter who hadn't even taken a breath because we didn't have a hospital."

Jack nodded slowly. "I should have thought it was something like that."

"Dad, I know you were gone a lot when I was a kid, but I always knew that you loved me." Charlie said, soberly.

Jack managed a grateful smile. "You didn't have to say that, but I appreciate it."

"It's true, Dad."

"Thanks, son." He said, gently putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "Now..." he paused and walked into the kitchen to retrieve glasses for the table. "What did Grace say that has Sam in her room explaining when and where she should share her, uh, prophecies?"

Charlie exchanged an amused, yet somewhat uncomfortable, smile with Cassandra. "Um...she said that she had told, uh...that girl at school..."

"Sara Carmichael."

"That she had a new brother..."

"Oh, good." Jack said, shaking his head. "I wonder how many calls we're going to get from people who think that Sam's had the baby..."

"Oh, no..." Cassandra said, shaking her head. "Sara apparently had other thoughts..."

"What kind of other thoughts?" Jack asked, his brow furrowing.

"That I'm dating Cassandra, and therefore, I'm the new brother that Grace has been talking about," Charlie said, shaking his head.

The retired Air Force general, who thought that he'd heard and seen everything that could ever possibly happen, dropped his jaw in surprise. "What?" He coughed.

"And when Sam was trying to shoo her to her room," Cassandra began.

"She blurted that we were going to get married anyway, so...letting Sara believe that we were dating already was okay." Charlie finished.

"I am SO sorry," Jack said, apologetically.

Charlie shrugged. "She's seven. I think I said worse things when I was her age."

Jack tried to stifle a chuckle.

"What?"

"You did." Jack said, nodding.

"When?"

"We were at your mom's aunt's house for a family reunion...Aunt, uh...Beatrice, I think it was."

"Yeah?"

"Well, Beatrice has always been one of the heavier women in your mom's family, but I guess you'd recently met one of the other mothers of kids in your class who was expecting a baby at the time, because you walked right up to her and asked her when her baby was due."

Charlie paled. "I didn't."

"Oh, you did," Jack laughed.

Charlie sighed heavily. "Oh, man, Mom must have been furious!"

"Actually she laughed harder than I did...but that was when we were all at home and she told the story to one of her friends..."

Charlie shook his head in embarrassment. "I can't believe I did that!"

"Charlie? Cassie?" Grace asked from where she'd entered the kitchen with her head hanging in shame.

"Yeah, kiddo?" Charlie asked, turning to her.

"I'm sorry if I scared you with any of the things I said."

"Hey, no problem," Charlie said, crouching down so that he could face her. "Must be hard to see what you can see and know what you know."

With tears welling up in her eyes, she nodded rapidly.

"Aw, come here," he murmured as he held his arms out to her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as she clung to him tightly and buried her face in his shoulder. Charlie stood, effortlessly, carrying the young girl in his arms as he held her close to him. "Maybe you and I and Cassandra if she wants," he said, turning back to the strawberry blonde at the oven, "Could go to the park tomorrow after we got and get me some clothes. That way Dad and Sam could have a few hours to themselves, and we "kids" can have some fun."

"I'm in," Cassandra said as she pulled the salmon from the oven.

"What'd I miss?" Sam asked, taking her time to walk up the stairs from the basement.

"Charlie's earning his keep," Jack said with a teasing smile. "He's getting us some alone time tomorrow."

Sam smiled softly. "Sounds pretty good, but after the trip to the mall tomorrow, I think I may just be in the mood to take a nap."

"Then, I'll have to take these two girls out to dinner too," Charlie winked, trying to get a reaction out of his younger sister.

All he got was Grace's insistent nod.

"Well, that's all there is to it," Charlie said, turning to his dad and stepmother.

"Thanks, Charlie," Sam said, gratefully. Her words were not in advance of the evening she would get to spend alone with her husband, but more in gratitude for his help in brokering peace with her daughter.

"You're welcome." He said with a small smile.

"Why don't you and Jack see if you can stay in Denver tonight?" Cassandra said, looking over at the couple. "I can make up a bed for Charlie, and Grace and I can take him to do his shopping. You two could probably use the time alone together."

Sam hesitated before Grace turned to her mom. "Yeah. You need it."

All of the adults tensed as they waited for Sam's reaction. The moment was long and drawn out before Sam turned toward the basement. "You know, I'm not sure we have any clean sheets. I should check on that for you, Charlie."

"I'm fine," he quickly assured.

"I can handle washing the sheets," Cassandra tried to reason as Sam opened the basement door.

"Sam, we have sheets, and you know it," Jack murmured as he reached out to touch her arm.

She shrugged his touch off as she continued down the stairs. He took a moment to sigh and prepare himself for the encounter he was about to have. He turned to the others. "I'll, uh...be right back. But I think the time alone to process would be a VERY good idea."

"Do you want us to go ahead and start without you?" Cassandra asked, motioning to the hot food.

He nodded. "We might just get a bite on the way..."

"Or I could wrap these up, and you could take them with you..." She offered.

He nodded. "That sounds better, actually."

"Consider it done," she said, nodding.

"Did I hurt Mom's feelings?" Grace asked, vulnerably.

Jack walked over and gently rubbed her back. "Your mom's a little sensitive about a lot of things right now, okay? But she loves you. She always will."

Grace nodded. "I love her too. Tell her I'm sorry?"

"I will, sweetheart," he said, kissing her temple.

"Come on," Charlie said, hugging his little sister, closely. "Maybe we can watch one of the hundreds of movies I've missed out on since I was here last."

"ENCHANTED!" She cried, instantly.

Jack shook his head with an amused half-smile. "Good luck, Charlie."

"You too, Dad," he said, honestly.

-

"Okay, Sam," Jack murmured as he approached the laundry room. "What was that about?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" He asked, skeptically. "You change the subject from the kids' attempt at being thoughtful in giving us a much-needed evening away from the world to sheets and how you need to wash some for Charlie when I know for a fact that we have at least three times as many sets of sheets than we need. Something's up."

Sam sighed. "I'm tired of the instability," she finally burst.

"Instability?" He asked as his brow furrowed.

"Two days ago, I was on bedrest. Today, I'm finding sheets for my stepson whom everyone thought was dead and telling my seven-year-old not to tell everyone about their futures. I've been taking short spurts of command at the SGC because everytime I show up, out of respect for my position and because of the enormity of the responsibility, Mitchell and Reynolds scramble to get me up-to-date before they dump it all back into my lap. And I'm tired, and my back hurts, and my ankles are swollen..." She sighed. "And I'm complaining about something that I would have killed for, had I been given the opportunity."

"Sounds like you need this retreat," he said, simply.

"I do, but I don't want to leave..."

"Cassandra knows how to handle Grace's nightmares if they arise, and Charlie's got a stable head on his shoulders. And it's not like we're going to be in Tibet. There are telephones, and it's only an hour's drive from Denver. If there's an emergency, they can call us, and we can come right back if we need to."

"We do need this, don't we?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Yeah, Sam, we do."

"All right," she said, managing a small smile. "Let's go. If you call the hotel, I'll pack."

"Deal."

She returned to the laundry, and he turned back to her. "Sam?"

"Hm?" She asked, turning back to him.

"You know I love you, right?"

She managed a soft smile. "Yes, but it's nice to hear it once in a while. I love you too."

"See, we're gonna be fine," he said with a grin.

He made quick work of the stairs before she turned back to the laundry. "If only it were that easy," she whispered to herself.

-

"And so, Prince Charming and Snow White rode off into the sunset to live happily ever after," Charlie finished. "The end."

"Another story, please," Grace asked from where she lay, tucked in her bed.

"After one movie and two stories?" Charlie asked, skeptically. "I don't think so. But maybe we can read another tomorrow."

"All right," she said, settling further into her bed.

"Hey, munchkin, I'm glad you're my sister," he murmured before kissing her forehead.

"That's what Dad said you'd say," Grace whispered as she quickly fell to sleep.

"Oh?" Charlie asked, almost surprised.

She nodded slowly. "Uh huh."

"Smart guy, our dad," Charlie said as he stood and turned out the lights.

"Uh huh."

"Good night, Grace," he whispered as he started to close the door behind him.

"'Night."

He smiled as he closed the door to find Cassandra standing on the other side, holding a couple of glasses of wine. "Uh, thanks," he said, accepting one of the glasses.

"You know, she pestered your dad with questions about you," she said, taking a sip of her own glass as she led him to the basement.

"She did?" He asked, surprised.

She nodded. "I think she wanted an older brother. Someone to protect her, and keep an eye on her."

"Well, she deserves someone like that," he said, soberly.

"I agree," Cassandra said, leading him to a room just off the stairs. "This is going to be your room," she informed him. "Mine's on the other side of the den in case you need something."

"Thanks."

"I set out some clean linens and towels, so you shouldn't have a problem in the morning when you take a shower."

"Well, aren't you the little hostess?" He teased, gently.

She blushed lightly. "I'm going to watch TV before I go to bed if that won't bother you."

"No, that's fine." He said, shaking his head. "In fact, I might actually watch with you..you know, so I can refamiliarize myself with what's on television. I mean, last time I watched television, I was ten, and my favorite show was Looney Toons."

She chuckled softly. "I never watched it."

"Are you kidding?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow. "It was THE coolest thing when I was a kid."

"I didn't used to own a television," she explained. "I was adopted by Janet Fraiser when I was eleven, and that was the first time I'd ever seen a television set."

"Seriously?"

She nodded.

"Wow."

They sat side by side on the couch. "What did you do?"

"I colored. I drew. I loved art."

"Can't say I blame you there," Charlie said, thinking back to his own childhood. "I watched TV and played sports more than I drew as a kid, but when I, uh, was..."

"Abducted," she finished.

"Oh, I didn't know if they'd told you that part."

She nodded. "There's very little that I'm not cleared to know."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Anyway...when you were abducted..."

"Right. Um, I did a lot of drawing and writing when I was there."

"Journaling?"

"Sort of," he admitted. "Some of it wasn't, though."

"I'd like to look at it if you ever want to share it," she admitted as she curled herself into the corner of the couch with one leg wrapped around her and the other erected into a mountainous point as she rested her arms on the strength of her knee.

"I'll remember that," he said, nodding. "As long as you share some of your art work with me."

She laughed softly. "I haven't drawn in...at least ten years..."

"Maybe you should pick it up again," he encouraged with a friendly shrug of the shoulders.

"Maybe..." She said, returning the shrug with one of her own.

"Now...what was that about television?" He asked, looking at her.

"Oh, right," she chuckled as she reached for the remote and unfolded her legs so that they reached the floor again. "I'm introducing you to today's shows."

"Yep."

"Well, I'll do some channel-surfing, and if we land on a show I like, we'll watch it, or if we find something you think is interesting, we'll check it out, okay?"

"Sounds good." He said with a small smile as he sipped at his wine.

"Just a warning, they've come out with this thing that they call "reality television"."

"What's that? Like documentaries?"

She shook her head. "Maybe we'll catch something like American Idol or Survivor."

A look of absolute confusion came over his face, and she laughed softly. "It's a bit of an acquired taste, but you might actually like it."

"I'm trusting you," he reminded her with a small laugh.

She grinned. "Good. Then, I guess we'll have some fun."

"Oh boy," he chuckled as he turned to face the television, inadvertently positioning himself more closely to her as she ended up doing the same in order to efficiently use the remote control.

"Here we go," she said with a grin. "Dancing with the Stars!"

Charlie sneaked a look at the girl sitting beside him, allowing himself to wonder for a moment what he was getting himself into with this twenty-four hours without parental supervision.


	45. Nighttime

Sam bit her lip as she nervously allowed her eyes to dart from the television screen to the telephone. If there was something wrong, she thought to herself. Someone would call. The odds that all three of them are hurt would be...

She didn't want to think about that.

"Would you relax?" Her husband asked, looking over at her. "You're all...jumpy."

She swallowed. "Right. Sorry. I just..."

"You're worried about the kids." He said in perfect understanding. "Still, may I remind you that two thirds of them are over the age of twenty-five?"

She managed a sheepish half-smile. "I know...stupid, right?"

He laughed softly as he kissed her cheek. "Sam, you're a mother. It's what you do." He rolled over to the nightstand and returned with the hotel pad of paper and a pen. "Okay, what are we going to do tomorrow?"

"What?"

"Face it, Sam, we've been kicked out of the house. Let's at least have a little bit of fun while we're here."

"We haven't been kicked out of the house," she laughed.

"Yes, we have." He insisted. "They did it nicely, but they still kicked us out."

"All right, all right," she laughed. "I'll play along."

"Come on," Jack said with a grin. "If you could do anything while we're here in Denver, what would it be?"

"Hm...well, we still need..."

"Ah, ah, ah!" He protested. "No needs. We can do that when we get back home."

"Jack..."

"Again, I ask, if you could do anything while we're here in Denver, what would it be?"

"Anything?" She asked, looking over at him in amusement.

"Anything you can do while following yours and my doctor's orders," he amended.

She chuckled softly. "I'd go to a museum."

"What kind of museum?"

"Doesn't matter. Art, science, children's..."

"We can do children's museums with Grace and the little guy when he gets here," Jack said, dismissing the idea. "But art and science...I think that's do-able."

"What about you?" She asked, looking over at her husband.

"Me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." She said with a small smile. "If I have to play, you do too."

He inhaled. "Well, there is something that we haven't done for a while...but I'm not exactly sure that your doctor would approve despite the fact that mine has already cleared me."

"Oh?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded as he turned his full attention to her. "I want to show you that you're the most beautiful woman in all of the worlds I've ever been to," he said, soberly.

She blushed as she shook her head. "Right now? I'm as big as a whale."

He shook his head in disagreement. "Nope. You're curvy because you're carrying our unborn child. There's nothing sexier than that."

Her blush turned to a deeper shade of crimson.

"Sam, these last few months have been pretty crazy," he said, gently touching the bare flesh of her arm with the tenderness of his most intimate caress. "And no matter how fast my world seems to be spinning out of control, you're there to anchor me. To keep me from falling. And tonight, I just want to look at you. All of you. No barriers, no masks. No Generals, no Mom, no Dad...nothing but you and me. I want to see you as you really are. And show you that no matter what happens, no matter what character traits - good, bad, or ugly - arise in the coming years, I will always love you with all of my heart."

She had tears slipping down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped at them with her shaking hands. "Damn hormones," she muttered under her breath.

He stopped her hands, and took over the task, gently wiping the tears from her eyes as he touched her face. "I love you, Samantha Carter, and it is an honor to call you my wife."

"I love you too," she whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.

* * *

"AH!"

The shrill shriek of the young female voice forced Charlie awake instantly. He blinked several times in an effort to become familiar with his surroundings again before he remembered that he was at his father's house on Earth. Feeling a weight on his shoulder, he turned to find Cassandra asleep with her cheek resting on his shoulder.

Had they fallen asleep during the show?

He looked over to find the television still on, but instead of the glittering costumes and energetic music of "Dancing with the Stars", he could see a woman holding a product called the "Bump It" as she tried to sell it to the general audience.

He reached over for the remote, almost sure that the scream had come from his dreams if Cassandra had managed to sleep through it. Managing to keep her still while he turned the television off, he leaned back to return to his own dreams.

Still, the silence of the house was not as it should have been, he mused as he stayed awake. There was someone...something making noise upstairs. Maybe Grace had had a nightmare.

Maybe he was crazy.

He gently helped Cassandra lay on the pillow to the other side of her so that he could leave. He felt an inner panic when she stirred.

"Sh," he murmured, gently placing a hand on her lips. "It's okay, you're safe. Go back to sleep."

She settled more deeply into the pillow as she returned to the depth of her dreams. He stood, and stretched before he crept up the stairs.

"No, Mommy, please...please don't go," a familiar voice whimpered.

"Grace," he whispered as he walked down the hallway to her bedroom.

"I'll be good, Mommy." She pleaded. "Just stay with me, please?"

He gently opened the door to find his younger sister thrashing about. "No, Mommy, please...Daddy, stay home, please...MOMMY!"

"Grace," he whispered as he gently touched her shoulder.

She gasped as she woke suddenly. "Charlie?"

"It's me," he assured. "Are you okay?"

She took a moment to recover before she looked at Charlie with a sad smile. "I'll be okay."

"Bad dream?"

She nodded.

"Have them often?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes."

"You want to tell me about it?" He asked, gently turning on the light that was on the nightstand beside her bed.

She looked somewhat hesitant, and he gave her a reassuring smile. "When I was little and I would have a nightmare, I would go into my parents' room, and they would ask me to tell them about the dream. I didn't want to talk about it, usually, but Dad told me once that it even helps him to talk about his bad dreams."

"He told me that too," Grace said, timidly.

Noticing the glimmer from her tears in the soft glow of lamplight, Charlie reached for a tissue, and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks before offering it to her so that she could blow her nose.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking down at her hands.

"You were calling to your parents. What happened?"

She bit her lip. "They died."

"They died?" Charlie asked, shocked.

"Not these parents...my first parents." She clarified.

"That's right," he said, shaking his head. "You're adopted."

She nodded. "My first parents died because they were fighting about me."

Charlie tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before he smiled, gently. "It wasn't your fault, Grace."

"You don't even know what happened," she whispered, looking at him in confusion.

"Maybe not," he said, softly. "But I have a hard time believing that such an innocent and sweet little girl like you could do anything to hurt anybody. Not something like that."

"I get scared when Mom and Dad leave," she admitted. "It's like when my first parents died...all over again."

"Then let's get you unscared. Do you want me to read you a story?"

She shook her head. "Mom sings to me when I get scared."

"What does she sing?"

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star," she said with a small half-smile. "With all the verses."

"All the verses?" Charlie asked, surprised. "I don't think I know all the verses."

"I'll help," she said as the smile grew.

"Okay..."

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star," they sang together. "How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are..."

Grace continued. "When the blazing sun is gone, When he nothing shines upon, Then you show your little light, Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.

"Then the traveller in the dark, Thanks you for your tiny spark, He could not see which way to go, If you did not twinkle so. Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are."

Charlie joined in on the repeating chorus, absolutely astonished by the simple beauty of the young girl's song.

"In the dark blue sky you keep, And often through my curtains peep, For you never shut your eye, Till the sun is in the sky, Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.

"As your bright and tiny spark, Lights the traveler in the dark - Though I know not what you are, Twinkle, twinkle, little star. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are."

"Thanks for sharing the rest of the verses with me, Grace," he said with a small smile. "How do you feel now?"

"Better," she admitted. "But still a little scared."

"Well, go to sleep, okay? And in the morning, we'll make waffles."

She grinned. "With strawberries on top?"

"If we have any," he smiled.

She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Charlie."

"I love you too, Grace," he whispered with a small, but somewhat sad, smile as he considered the baby girl he'd never be able to hold like this.

* * *

Charlie quietly closed the door, now certain that Grace had fallen back to sleep.

"She had the nightmare, didn't she?" Cassandra asked from where she stood in the kitchen.

"The one where her parents died?" He asked, quietly. "Yeah."

"Poor thing goes through that every time Sam and Jack are away."

"What exactly happened to her other parents?"

"She was four, and had a dream that they had died. Apparently, her mother hadn't wanted to leave her, but her father was starting to feel that Grace was coming between them in their relationship. They argued about Grace and her gift, made a rash decision to make a U-turn and return home, and were killed almost instantly."

"That's awful."

She nodded. "If there's one thing worse than losing your parents, it's watching them die...even if it is only in your dreams."

She turned away, but Charlie could see the empathy written on her face despite her attempts to hide it from him. "What about you? My dad explained that you'd been adopted by a friend of theirs...a doctor...but he didn't say much more than that."

"You and I are a lot alike," she said, thoughtfully. "You're not the only one who spent most of their life on a different planet than the one on which they were born."

He raised an eyebrow.

"The only difference for us is that I can't go back...there's no one to go home to."

She walked over to the cupboard and retrieved a glass as he processed her revelation. "So, you're..."

"An alien." She finished as she filled the glass with water. "And the sole survivor of the Hankan people."

"Wow."

"Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c came and saved me just after the massive epidemic which slaughtered my people. They found me, and they brought me here." She swallowed without divulging her own part in their near-destruction. "The rest is history as they say."

"It must have been hard to keep that a secret," he said, knowingly.

"You learn to live with it," she said, brusquely. "I mean, I'm not the one who made them all so ill. I'm not the one who destroyed them."

"No, but you're the one left standing to tell the tale," he said, softly. "Sometimes, that's worse."

She paused before looking into her glass. "That's not fair."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"I hardly know you, and you can see through my facade."

"I'm sorry," he said, soberly.

"No, don't be." She said, shaking her head. "I just...I'll have to be careful around you. That's all."

"Yeah, well that goes both ways," he said good-naturedly.

"What do you mean?"

"Sam told me that you were the one who had felt that I wasn't telling everyone everything."

She blushed. "She told you that?"

"Uh huh."

"Sorry...I just..."

"You want to protect them." He said, understandingly. "It's okay. So did I."

"They're the closest thing to family I have left," she whispered, softly.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked, noticing how close to tears she seemed.

"I'm...I'm fine," she tried to assure him.

"What is it?"

She blinked away tears. "I just...sometimes I miss my mom. I mean, Sam and Jack are awesome, and they've helped me out more than anyone else on the planet, but...my mom was just such...she was so good at making everything better. Even if she didn't have a solution, she could at least make you feel better...and she's the reason I want to be a doctor. I want to be like her, I want to keep things from happening like the plague that wiped out my entire planet...and I'm babbling..." She managed with a nervous smile as she tried to mask her pain.

"Come here," Charlie whispered as he wrapped his arms around her.

Despite her surprise, Cassandra returned the hug, grateful for the sudden warmth and comfort it provided.

"It's okay to miss your mom. It doesn't mean you love your birth parents or Sam and my dad any less," he murmured in her ear. "That's what my adoptive mother told me when I was about thirteen and wishing that I was here with my parents. I truly believe it."

"She was a smart woman," Cassandra whispered, unsure that she ever wanted to let go of him.

He pulled away with a cough. "Yeah. She was. There were a lot of great people on that planet. A lot of wonderful men and women who shaped the person that I am today."

"Charlie," Cassandra murmured as she watched him emotionally retreat from her.

"Look, it's late. I have a lot to do tomorrow. I should get to bed," he said, turning to go back to the basement.

Cassandra sighed as she watched him go. What she wouldn't give to have met him before he'd married or after more time had passed since his wife's death.

She finished the water in her glass. What she wouldn't give to know for sure that he wasn't just a rebound, she thought to herself wryly. Some attraction which was purely an opportunity to prove to herself that she could move past her last break-up.

"If only it weren't so hard," she groaned as she put the glass in the sink and headed to bed.


	46. Good Morning

"Okay, sport, there are a few other things you need to know," Sam heard from the depths of her unconsciousness. "Number one, your mom is always right. Even when it seems like she's wrong, she's right. And don't ever ask her the question "how". She'll launch into a two-hour lecture on the subject, and you're gonna regret asking...I speak from experience..."

"Jack?" Sam asked, opening one of her eyes as she tried to avoid allowing the morning light into her eyes.

"Hey," he said, brightly, from where he was leaning over her belly.

"What are you doing?"

"Preparing the little guy for his arrival."

"That's not for another several months," she said, perplexed by his idiosyncratic behavior.

"Yeah, but you get alone time with the little guy...gotta take it when I can get it."

She laughed softly as she rolled over slightly, burying her face into his pillow. "You're insane."

"Thank you," he said with a grin as he hopped out of bed.

"How can you have so much energy?" She asked with a groan.

"Dunno." He said with a laugh. "Maybe it was sleeping next to the most beautiful woman in the world."

"You're going to start that up again?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah," he said as he leaned in and kissed her quickly. "Now...we should have room service any minute..."

"You already called room service?" She asked, sitting up as she looked over at the clock. "It's six in the morning!"

"Well, I wasn't sure when Jun...the little guy was gonna want breakfast, so I ordered some eggs, toast, oatmeal...pretty much anything you could want for breakfast."

"Bacon," she announced as her stomach growled.

"Except that." He said, his face falling.

"It's okay," she laughed softly. "We'll just make another order..."

"Ah, the magic of facilitated laziness," Jack said, cheekily.

"We are on the closest thing to a vacation as we're going to get these days," Sam chuckled. "And if I'm not mistaken, my standing orders seem to be "take it easy"."

"Actually, they're "don't die", but how do you keep that order?"

"Take it easy," she repeated.

"Exactly."

"Which is why I'm wondering why I'm awake at six A.M. when, though I know it happens rarely, I'd rather be sleeping in."

"Because of..."

There was a knock at the door. "Room service."

Jack grinned at how impeccable his timing had been. "That."

Sam shook her head with a smile as he answered the door. "Thanks," she heard him say. "But I'll take it from here."

"Don't forget the bacon!" Sam called.

There was a brief pause. "I'll be right back, sir."

"Thank you," Jack said before he closed the door and pushed the cart into the room. "And...breakfast is served," he said with a flourish.

Sam smiled as she held the sheet over her body. "Tell me something, Jack."

"Anything." He said, looking up from the breakfast platter.

"How is it that you managed to get me naked last night, and stay that way this morning, but you managed to remain fully dressed?"

He grinned. "Someone had to get breakfast."

"Well, I'm not coming to you," she said, cheekily, "So, you can bring that here."

"I don't know," he said, looking at her for a moment before he turned his eye back to the platter. "It's an awfully long walk, and I could have such a good view."

"Jack!" She cried, good-naturedly, as she reached for the pillow beside her and threw it at him.

He ducked with a grin. "Your mama can't teach you to throw, sport," he teased. "She couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if she wanted to."

Knowing that his words were in absolute jest, she opened her mouth as she tried to keep from laughing loudly. "And who did you have shoot that bean bag thing? You know...the thin piece of rope from a rather far distance?"

She could see the mischief on his face long before she heard his words. "Well, there's a first time for everything."

"Is that so, General?" She asked as the fire of determination he'd first seen in her eyes seventeen years ago came back to them. "May I remind you who still holds the family record for Frisbee throwing?"

"You may," he said, finally bringing the platter to the bed. "But I'll hazard a guess that it's the most amazing woman I've ever had the privilege of knowing."

She blushed softly. "You know, you don't have to keep saying things like that..."

"I know I don't, but I want to." He said, sitting beside her on the bed. She reached for a piece of fruit in the fruit cup as he leaned in and kissed her tenderly. "I love you, Mrs. O'Neill," he said, fervently looking into her eyes as he pulled away.

"I love you too, Jack," she whispered as she leaned in for another kiss.

"Room service!" Came the voice from outside the door as a loud knock could be heard.

"D'oh!" Jack sighed, allowing his head to dangle for a moment before he pulled away. "Hold that thought."

"Anything...for bacon." She winked.

* * *

_"Maybe if we'd been able to go to a hospital..."_

_"That's why I decided to go into medicine. So many people die because there aren't enough doctors."_

_"Cassie, I...there was an ambush on the last mission...Colonel O'Neill's being treated for a staff weapon wound and...and y-your mom...."_

_"Doctor Fraiser isn't my real mother. She died! When Nirrti poisoned my village."_

_"It's okay to miss your mom. It doesn't mean you love your birth parents or Sam and my dad any less."_

With a feverish gasp at the thoughts swirling in her head for the first time in years, Cassandra sat up in bed. She rubbed at her forehead before grimacing at the light filtering in through the basement window. She sighed heavily before she stood. "You can do this, Cassandra," she murmured to herself. "You can get through another day..." She stopped for a moment. "Even with the demons in your past."

A peal of giggles caught her attention, and she looked toward the direction of her bedroom door. What was going on upstairs?

She quickly donned a robe, wrapping and tying it around herself as she made her way up the stairs. With each step, the voices grew louder as Charlie's tenor was constantly interrupted with Grace's giggles. She couldn't help but smile. They'd been meant to be brother and sister. They had slipped easily into the roles as if they'd been prepared to bridge the rift that had been caused by his twenty-year absence.

"Let's see, we've got bacon for eyebrows."

"And a mustache!" Grace insisted.

"And for a mustache," Charlie said, recognizing her authority. "We have blueberries for eyes."

"Like Mom's!"

"Exactly. Like your mom's," he said as Cassandra entered the kitchen to see him placing the berries down with a flourish.

"A dab of butter for a nose...and...marshmallows for teeth."

"The little baby ones!" Grace cried, waving a hand passionately as she tried to point to them over the breakfast bar.

"The little baby ones," he agreed, very meticulous in his creation. "And...for the piece de resistance..."

"CHOCOLATE CHIPS!" Grace yelled in her excitement.

Charlie chuckled before turning to shush her. "Cassandra's still..." His eyes fell on the young woman who managed a sheepish smile. "Well, she was asleep, I'm sure." He said with the signature O'Neill grin.

"Only until just barely," she said, nodding.

"Sorry about that," he said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"It wasn't this," she said, shaking her head.

He nodded, not pressing the issue.

"So...chocolate chips are for..." She said, walking over to where he was adorning the whole wheat waffles that he and Grace had made for breakfast.

"Hair," he said, quickly sprinkling some of the dark morsels onto the top of the waffle with a flourish. Quickly grabbing the plate and whirling around to where Grace sat at the breakfast bar, he slid the plate in front of her. "Your made-to-order Mr. Waffle Face." He said, bowing with a false aire of superiority. "If it please you, miss, I would eat the bacon before I put syrup on it."

Grace giggled, covering her face with her hands in an attempt to hide the laughter.

"Aw, but bacon and syrup is so delicious!" Cassandra teased as she snagged a piece of bacon.

"You can do what you want to do with your own waffle," Charlie said, turning twinkling eyes to her.

She grinned as she took a bite of the bacon. "Nice to know I have your approval."

Charlie turned a mischievous smile to his younger sister. "Did you hear what I just heard? That she wants hers blended like a shake?"

Grace grinned with a mouthful of chocolate chips and waffle.

"All right, all right," Cassandra chuckled. "I'll be careful not to insult he who controls my breakfast."

"That's better," he sniffed, teasingly. "Now, what kind of face do you want?"

"Um...a chocolate chip, blueberry, marshmallow one with whipped cream, but no bacon or butter."

"For the girl who thinks that bacon and syrup is so delicious," he winked.

"I was being just a little bit facetious," she said, giving him a bit of a hard time.

"Yes, well...how was I to know?" He challenged teasingly again.

"You're supposed to read my mind," she said in mock seriousness. "Your other two siblings have psychic powers. Where are yous?"

"Oh ho..." He chuckled. "Ouch."

"Sorry," Cassandra said, apologetically. "That came out harsher than I expected. I didn't...didn't sleep too well last night."

"Sorry to hear that." He said, soberly.

The telephone rang, and Grace hurried to it. "Maybe it's Mom!"

"Probably is," Cassandra said, nodding. "She always tries to call first thing when she's not here in the morning."

"That's probably a comfort to Grace given her history."

Cassandra nodded, thoughtfully. "Yeah. I'm sure it is."

"Hi, Mom! We're making waffles!" Grace could be heard from the other room as she chattered away.

"So, didn't sleep well, huh?" Charlie asked, sympathetically. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." She said, going through the motions of making coffee.

"Did I say something last night?"

"No," she said, shaking her head.

"Something bothered you enough to keep you up." He prodded, gently.

"No, but something obviously bothered you enough for you to leave in the middle of our conversation," she said, getting a little agitated.

"Something is bothering you," he said, triumphantly.

"Oh, are you kidding?" She asked, turning an annoyed look to him. "Would you stop pushing my buttons? Stop putting words in my mouth!"

"Look, Cassandra, I'm not very good at this," he said with a sigh. "And I'm more than a little confused right now..."

"I got that." She said as she began preparing her own waffle.

"Tell me what I did so I can fix it?" He pleaded. "You're important to my dad, and I don't want to ruin that."

"It wasn't you," she said, succinctly. "But if you keep this up, it will be you."

"Got it." He said, falling instantly quiet.

"Look," Cassandra murmured, turning back to him, apologetically. "Maybe it's what Grace said earlier...I mean, you know about us..."

"Getting married?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Been on my mind too."

She bit her lip. "It's probably a good thing that I have another semester of school," she murmured softly. "Otherwise, we might rush into something just so that we're not lonely anymore..."

Charlie nodded, solemnly. "You're probably right. We...I, at least, need to figure out what's going on in here first," he said, touching his temple, gently.

She nodded. "Me too. Even though I realized there at the end that I wasn't actually in love with Cameron the way I should have been, it still hurt to be rejected. And..." She sighed. "And I need to start being okay with being alone. I mean, my career path is difficult enough. I don't need to drag someone else through it."

"Everyone needs someone," he said with a shrug. "Whether you're a military officer or you're a dentist. I doubt anyone expects you to be a recluse."

Cassandra opened her mouth to speak as Grace hurried into the room. "Dad wants to talk to you."

Charlie accepted the phone, forcing a smile to his lips. "Hi, Dad. What is it?"

Cassandra slipped out of the kitchen as Charlie listened to his father. "Okay, Dad, I'll call her and let her know where to pick me up, and I'll be sure to make sure Grace has a good lunch before you come home at dinner time."

"Cassie?" Grace asked, reaching the young woman at the top of the stairs.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning from where she stood on the stairs.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For saying what I did about you and Charlie...I should have been quiet."

Cassandra managed a small smile. "It's okay."

"It was your graduation I saw," she clarified. "You and Charlie kissed and you wore a ring like Mom's."

Cassandra inhaled. "Great...any information on how it's going to turn out after the shot gun wedding?"

Grace shook her head. "I shouldn't have told you that either," she mumbled to herself as she shuffled off.

Cassandra closed her eyes. "Nope," she muttered under her breath.

* * *

It was nearly an hour before Charlie appeared at her room with a knock.

"What?"

"Uh, Grace is overwrought there in her room," he said, worriedly. "Do you know what happened?"

"I'll go talk to her," Cassie said, moving toward him.

"No, I...I can do that, I just...wanted to know why she's crying." He said, stopping her.

"And I can take care of it," Cassandra snapped as she pushed past him.

"What is your problem?" Charlie called after her, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"My problem?" She asked, looking back at him. "I'm minutes away from losing everything I've ever held together for the last ten years, and you are asking me what my problem is?"

He fell silent.

"My problem," she ranted. "Is that I've lost two mothers in my lifetime...and all that by the time I was eighteen years old. I am the sole survivor of a race that NO one besides a handful of VERY specific people know about, and I can't even discuss my past because I am not even from this planet. I had a boyfriend die in a car accident, I had a fiance return to his ex-wife, and now, I learn that I'm supposed to marry the long-lost son of the only father-figure I have in my life right now. And all before graduation in four months! I can't handle this anymore!"

"Cassandra," he murmured, soothingly, as he stepped toward her.

"Don't DO that!" She yelled. "You don't know me!"

"You're right," he said, stopping in his tracks. "I don't know you."

"Dammit," she sighed. "Would you just...stop agreeing with everything I say? It's getting annoying."

"I'm not agreeing with every..."

"I'm not ready to get married," she said, soberly. "And I don't think I'll be ready in four months."

"I'm not asking you to be," he returned. "I haven't even asked you to go on a date."

"But you were going to."

"I was thinking about it," he admitted. "Which is why I ran off last night. There's a part of me that's still married, Cassandra..."

"Yes, to Miss Perfect." She said, rolling her eyes. "Who can compete with that?"

Charlie stood still as tears wet his eyes. "I don't want to replace her," he whispered softly. "Nobody...could ever do that for me."

"Charlie," she sighed as she saw the depth of his pain.

"Just...deal with whatever you've got going on in your head," he said, shrugging her attempts at reconciliation away. "I'll take care of Grace. Probably even take her to lunch with me when I go to see my mother. Just...pack or whatever you're doing. We'll get out of your hair."

_"Doctor Fraiser isn't my mother. She died! When Nirrti poisoned my village."_

_"Yes, to Miss Perfect...who can compete with that?"_

"I am such a terrible person," she sobbed as she curled up in the privacy of her bedroom. "Such a terrible, spiteful, mean person."


	47. Recriminations

"Okay, the Hubble movie was worth the whole trip," Sam admitted as she and her husband walked in the front door several hours later.

"I'll admit it was cool," he said, soberly. "But it wasn't THAT cool. I mean, it was pretty cool to go on a date again."

She smiled softly. "Okay, yeah...that was cool too."

"You seem a lot more relaxed," he said with a note of approval in his voice.

"I am a lot more relaxed," she said, honestly. "Thanks to you."

He grinned as he leaned in and kissed her. "You're welcome." He pulled away before quickly scanning the room. "So...any idea where everyone is?"

"Well, they could still be shopping or they could be at the park," she said, shrugging. "I think those were some of the options they discussed last night before we left."

"Or...they could be playing air hockey downstairs," Jack said with a grin.

"Not everyone is as obsessed with that air hockey table as you are, Jack," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, but if there's one thing I know about my kids..."

"It's that they, like you, love air hockey?" She asked, skeptically.

"Hey, Grace can't get enough of it."

"No, Grace can't get enough of spending time with you, and therefore...she can't get enough of air hockey."

"Yes, well, Charlie used to bug me for quarters so that he could play this whenever we went out for pizza...they had a table there, and Charlie couldn't get enough of it."

"He's twenty years older now, Jack," she said, somewhat unsure. "And he's spent most of his time, lately, on an alien planet. I think it's probably lost its appeal."

"No, now it has vintage quality in his memory." He grinned.

She laughed. "Okay, okay, let's go look."

"Hey, Grace! Cass! Charlie!"

Silence reached their ears.

Sam looked at her watch as Jack walked down the stairs. "It's only four-thirty, Jack, they might still be out..."

"Well, they're not down here, that's for sure," Jack said, looking back up at his wife.

"I'll call Cassandra to check." She said, reaching for her cell before dialed the familiar number.

"You've reached Cassandra Fraiser. I'm unavailable to answer the phone right now, so if you will please leave your name, number, the time you called, and a brief message, I'll be sure to get right back to you. Have a nice day!"

"Cassandra, it's Sam." She said, tensing. "It's a little after four-thirty, and Jack and I just got home. We were just wondering where you guys are, but you're probably still out doing some shopping. Call me when you get this message. Bye."

She hung up the phone as Jack met her at the top of the stairs with an interested look on his face. She shook her head. "She didn't pick up. I had to leave a message."

"Didn't I tell Charlie to make sure to be home?"

"Jack, it's not like he has a driver's license," she said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure he's doing the best he can. Besides, he was supposed to have lunch with Sara, and I'm sure they got to talking, and lost track of time."

"Hope you're right," he said with the nagging suspicion that there was more to the situation than just a simple set of unfortunate coincidences.

The front door opened just then, and Grace raced into the house. "Cassie!" She yelled, excitedly. "Charlie has blue converse just like me!"

"Whoa, kiddo," Sam said, putting up a hand as Grace skidded into the kitchen. "Slow down. Cassie didn't go with you?"

"MOM!" She cried, breathlessly. "What are you doing here?"

"We're back," she said, soberly. "Now...my question, please?"

"She didn't want to come. I think she's downstairs in her room."

"Try again," Jack said, shaking his head.

"Mom, give him a break. He's got a lot on his plate right now." Charlie's voice could be heard from the entryway.

"I tried. For thirteen years, I tried. And for every single one of them, he had a lot on his plate." Sara said, somewhat agitated. "But now...I'm sorry, you were not brought back here to be his daughter's..."

"My sister's," he corrected.

"Babysitter." She finished.

"Hi, Sara," Jack said, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

She reddened as she turned. "Jack."

Charlie coughed as he looked over at his mom. "In all fairness, this whole thing was my idea," he said, reaching down to pick up the bags which she'd helped him to bring in from the car.

Sara looked at Jack, biting the inside of her cheek for a moment before she sighed. "I guess that's my cue..."

Jack nodded, slowly. "Probably."

She turned toward the open door before she paused and turned back. "Second chances don't come around so that you can make the same mistakes again, Jack," she said, soberly.

She didn't wait for a response before she walked out of the door and closed it behind her.

Jack sighed as he turned back toward the kitchen. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Grace's eyes widened at the sound of the "forbidden" word.

"Cassandra woke up feeling a little...emotionally run down," Charlie said, looking over at his father. "With all of the changes over the last few days, I don't blame her...she started feeling a little insecure is my guess."

"Where is she?" Sam asked, curiously.

"I don't know. I thought she was still here," he said, shrugging.

"So, you took Grace with you to your lunch with your mother?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Look, I didn't realize it was going to be such a big deal," Charlie said with a sigh.

"You could have called us. We would have come right back," Sam said, gently.

"I know." He said with a small sigh. "Maybe that's what I'll do next time."

Sam shared a look with her husband, who instantly picked up some of Charlie's bags. "Let me help you take this stuff downstairs."

Sam turned to Grace. "Come on, kiddo, let's get dinner going, hm? You can tell me about your day."

"Okay, Mom." Grace said, skipping into the kitchen. "What are we gonna have?"

"What do you want?" Sam asked, trying to keep her mind off of what was probably going to be discussed downstairs.

* * *

"What's going on, Charlie?" Jack asked, turning to his son as they reached the guest room.

"I just told you, Dad."

"Not about the whole situation up there...I mean about what's bugging you."

"I hate when you and Mom fight," he said, simply. "I always have, and I have a feeling I always will."

"Charlie..."

"Look, I know what this is about," Charlie said, turning to his father with a sigh. "It's the fact that I can't live with her because I was abducted by an alien race that ninety-eight percent of the world doesn't know about."

Jack was silent.

"Maybe it would be best if I move into my own place soon..."

"But you don't..."

"I know." He interrupted. "I don't have a job, a car or even a driver's license for that matter, I have never lived on my own on Earth, and you and Mom will both worry about me. But I think with the way everything's going lately, I should live in a bit of a no man's land, if you will...neutral territory."

Jack sighed. "If that's what you want, I'll help you."

"Thanks, Dad." He said with a grateful smile.

Jack nodded as he turned to leave. He stopped for a moment, turning back to his son. "Charlie?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"I think this thing with your mom is...is more than jealousy." He swallowed, thinking back to a time and place that might be glossed over by future generations because of the young man who stood before him, but that would always be a painful reminder of his own ineptitudes.

"I think...I think she's not sure if she should trust you to my care. You may be thirty years old, but to us, there's still a part of you that's the ten-year-old boy who died...I think she may be afraid of just what might happen to you if you get involved in my life. Especially given what we had to tell her with your return."

He swallowed. "I know I wasn't part of the Stargate program when you were first abducted, and I know that it might be easy to wonder if we shouldn't just be able to put aside the pain of losing your clone, but..." He sighed. "Knowing that the Asgard, a race that I became rather familiar with in time, stole you from us might just be reopening the hurt that your mother felt when your clone shot himself with my gun..."

Jack inhaled. "Kind of like it's done to me..."

"Dad," Charlie murmured as he looked over at his father.

"If I ever pushed you away or made you feel like you couldn't trust me," Jack whispered, thickly. "I...I'm sorry."

Charlie walked over instantly and wrapped his arms around his father. "Dad, I love you. And I trust you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Guin..."

"Sh," Jack murmured, softly. "I've been there...and I didn't feel too much like talking either."

The sound of footsteps down the stairs caught the men's attention, forcing them to look toward the door as Sam and Grace walked in.

"Cassandra's in Denver, waiting for her flight to Baltimore," Sam said, soberly.

"What? Why?" Jack asked, surprised. "She wasn't supposed to leave until tomorrow."

Charlie looked over at Sam and Jack with a small sigh. "That, uh...that might be my fault. I think she was trying to avoid me."

Jack and Sam turned furrowed brows to Charlie in unison.

"Look, it's Grace's prophecy. It has her a little...unhinged. Especially since this whole thing is apparently going to happen by graduation."

Sam's eyes widened before she turned to her daughter.

"Erm..." Grace mumbled, trying to look innocent.

"We've got to get her back. Got to fix this," Jack said, instantly.

"Her flight was called while we were on the phone." Sam said with a small sigh. "She's probably on board by now."

Jack turned to his wife. "How do you feel about Baltimore in January?"

Sam inhaled. "I'd go in a heartbeat if Dr. Meyers approved. But, I'm not so sure he will."

Jack looked at Charlie. "Weren't you just complaining about how you don't have a driver's license?"

"Uh..."

"I don't think it would be wise to try and pull a '69 on him, Jack," Sam said, seeing his train of thought.

"What? It worked for Teal'c, didn't it?"

Sam tensed as he walked out of the room to make the plans. "Yes, but you didn't have to wake up with Teal'c when he had nightmares about oncoming traffic..." She murmured as she followed him.


	48. Roadtrip

"Are you sure this is wise?" Sam asked, slipping between the covers later that evening.

"Am I sure what's wise?" Jack asked, looking over at her from where he lay in the bed.

"Making a big trip to confront Cassandra about something she obviously doesn't want broadcasted?"

"She doesn't have to know we're all there," Jack said, seriously. "We can take Grace to see some of her friends, I'll take Grace and Charlie to a few museums while you talk to Cassandra, it'll be great."

"If that's all we're going to do, why don't I just beam over?" She said, soberly. "That way, Grace gets back to school on time and Charlie doesn't feel..."

"Charlie will be fine."

"And Sara?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. "Charlie's return brought up a few issues, especially since your work was inadvertently involved."

"What?" He asked, his brow furrowed.

"Think of it from her perspective, Jack, Charlie was abducted by a race of beings who later became friends with you!"

"Yeah, but that was a LONG time after Charlie's abduction."

"I know that, and Sara knows that, but it's easier for me to face because I know exactly how everything turned out. She may have a little trouble...I mean, she might feel pretty betrayed."

"You have got to stop trying to get into my ex-wife's head. You're giving me a headache," Jack said, rolling over.

"Think about how she must have felt when her time with Charlie was tinted with Grace tagging along because we were out of town."

"I made it pretty clear that we didn't know what had happened, didn't I?" Jack snapped. "And that if we had, we would have done things differently."

Sam touched her temple with a grimace. "Jack..."

"We're going to DC!" Jack announced in his irritation.

"And the royal decree comes..." Sam murmured, sarcastically.

"If Charlie wants to stay, he can stay." Jack said with a sigh. "But I figured that if this does have something to do with the two of them, he'd be a pretty handy person to have on deck."

She exhaled slowly. "Unfortunately, you might be right about that."

"I know I'm right about that. So...we leave for DC in the morning?"

"Even though I'm being haunted by every possible problem with that particular solution," she sighed.

"Good. Now, go to sleep. I'm gonna need you fresh in the morning."

* * *

"Can we bring Doc?" Grace asked as she and her family packed Sam's SUV with the necessities for the trip.

"No," Sam said, turning to her daughter. "We already went through this. Teal'c's going to stay at the house and take care of Doc while we're gone."

"But I'm going to miss Doc," she pouted.

Sam turned to react as Charlie gently rubbed his sister's brunette head. "Aw, come on, it's gonna be fun! You and I will play twenty questions."

"What's that?" She asked with a furrowed brow.

"A secret game that is passed from one O'Neill to another, but only during a road trip," Charlie winked as he bent down to Grace's leve with a conspiratorial wink.

Sam hid her chuckle fairly well, grateful for Jack's oldest son's presence.

Grace looked up at her mother for a moment before she sighed. "I guess I'll have fun without Doc..."

"I'm sure he'll miss you too, angel," Sam said with a small smile as Jack walked out of the house.

"You all ready to go?"

"When Teal'c comes to get the key and listen to the instructions I have for him," Sam said, nodding.

Just then, the alien's gold colored SUV turned into the driveway, next to the O'Neills' vehicle.

"Nice timing!" Jack announced, enthusiastically, as Teal'c got out of the car, dressed in a black sweater, jeans, and a knitted cap.

"Thank you, O'Neill." Teal'c said, bowing in acceptance of the compliment.

Sam smiled as Teal'c leaned in for a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "Hi, Teal'c."

"Teal'c, are you gonna watch Doc while we're gone?" Grace asked, turning her large eyes to him.

He knelt down to eyelevel with the little girl. "Indeed."

"Well, he likes to read before bed." She retrieved a book from her backpack. "This is his favorite book. He likes to take a walk in the morning, and he likes to lick your plate when you're done with your food."

"I wrote all of the instructions down in the house. They're on the kitchen table," Sam said, retrieving a key from her key ring before offering it to the Jaffa. "And if you have any questions, you have our numbers."

He nodded as he stood. "Indeed."

"Am I forgetting anything?" She asked, turning to her husband.

"Cassandra Fraiser will be most grateful to see you," Teal'c said, soberly.

"I hope so." Sam said, managing a grateful smile for the Jaffa's thoughtfulness.

"We should go," Jack said, nudging his wife.

Sam inhaled.

"It will be all right, General Carter," Teal'c said with a small smile.

"Thank you, Teal'c," she said with a more relaxed smile. "I needed to hear that."

She turned back to the group with whom she would be traveling. "Did everyone go to the bathroom?"

"Everyone except you," Jack said, affectionately.

"Then, give me a minute, and we'll be on our way." She said, hurrying into the house.

"Get in the car, you two," Jack said, turning to Charlie and Grace.

"As long as you promise we won't have to listen to thirty hours of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall"," Grace said, looking at her dad seriously.

"I second that motion," Charlie said, instantly.

"Oh, come on! That's the best song in the whole world!" Jack protested. "T likes it, don't you T?"

Jack clasped a hand on the Jaffa's shoulder as a symbol of their solidarity as the Jaffa turned a strange look to his friend. "No," he drawled out in obvious disgust.

Charlie had to bite back a chuckle as Jack turned a mockingly betrayed look to his friend. "Sorry, Dad, three against one..."

"Yeah, well, T's not coming." Jack said, pulling his hand from Teal'c's shoulder. "He doesn't count."

"Yeah, but Mom does," Grace said, pointedly. "And she HATES the "99 Bottles" song."

"No, she doesn't," Jack said, shaking his head. "She respects it as the tradition that it is."

"Tradition?" Sam asked as she returned. "What tradition?"

"The "99 Bottles" song," Grace said, proudly.

"Jack, please...I don't think I'd make it to DC alive if you sang that for thirty hours straight," Sam said, shaking her head.

Charlie exchanged knowing grins with Grace as they gave each other a triumphant high-five. "Three against one," they chimed with matching grins as they turned back to Jack.

"Okay, okay...we save that one for the cabin," he said, shaking his head as he opened the car door for Sam.

"Thank you," she said with a wry smile as she slipped into the car.

"You're so lucky you're my wife," he laughed, softly. "If you were anyone else..."

"Yeah, well, I have a feeling that if I wasn't pregnant, you'd be threatening to sing it regardless of the fact that I was your wife," she accused, affectionately.

He bent down and kissed her belly before returning his attention to her face before he kissed her lips. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Come on," she laughed softly. "Let's go before Cassandra decides to move, and we lose track of her."

* * *

A quick glance in the rearview mirror to where Charlie and Grace sat in the backseat, and a darting look out of the corner of his eye to where Sam sat with her arm on her growing belly and another over her eyes made Jack realize that his life was nearly perfect. A better understanding of what had happened with Cassandra and the birth of his second son would make everything perfect.

Jack turned his eyes back to the road as he reached over and retrieved Sam's hand, bringing it to his lips for a small caress.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, cracking one eye open as she continued to shade her eyes with her hand.

"Trying to show my lovely wife how much I love her," he winked.

"Well, your lovely wife would really like to get a nap," she murmured, shifting her weight slightly.

"Ah, ever the romantic," he teased.

"I do what I can," she mumbled as she closed her eyes again.

"You wanna stop?" He asked, compassionately. "I mean, you've been in that seat for hours...it can't be comfortable anymore."

"You always had a talent for seeing things that other people took for granted," she said as a small smile flitted onto her lips. "Yeah, a stretch would be nice."

"How about you two?" Jack asked, turning his eyes to glance behind him in the rearview mirror. "You ready for a stretch?"

"Sure," Charlie and Grace chimed in from where they'd been watching their movie on the portable DVD player.

"What has she got you watching, Charlie?" Sam asked with an amused smile as she turned around to look at him.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events," Grace grinned.

"At least it's not Enchanted." Jack quipped as he pulled into an Applebee's parking lot.

Grace shook her head. "That's not until we get home."

"We're doing the countdown to her favorite movie," Charlie said as he noticed the O'Neills' confused looks.

Sam and Jack exchanged amused glances before Jack turned off the car. "Last one inside is buying," Jack teased as he opened the car door.

"But I don't have any money," Grace said, turning wide eyes to her father.

"That's okay," Sam groaned, good-naturedly, as she got out of the car. "I have a feeling that even with your dad's bad knee, I'll be the last one in."

"I say that no matter who wins or loses, Dad pays," Charlie laughed as he unlatched his seatbelt.

"Oh, good," Jack winked as he walked over and helped Sam to recapture her balance. "I guess my thoughts of a family race were in vain."

"With a wife who's visibly pregnant and two kids with plenty of energy but no money?" Sam asked with a triumphant smile. "I'd say so."

"D'oh," he chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I guess I'm buyin'."

"It's okay, Dad, once I find a job, we'll flip for it," Charlie teased.

"Oh great," he murmured with a chuckle. "Thirty and still living at home, and he says he'll flip for it when he's got a job. Yep. That's living the dream."

Sam laughed softly as she rested her head on her husband's shoulder as they walked into the restaurant.

"O'Neill. Party of four," he said with a small smile as the maitre d' appeared. Yep, life was pretty much perfect.


	49. The Calm Before the Storm

The silence in the car allowed Jack to focus all of his attention on his thoughts and the headlights and tailights of the other cars on the interstate with him. He didn't allow himself to think often about the many lives which he'd saved through the years, but for some reason, it became suddenly clear to him. Each one of these cars represented at least one person, and more likely an entire family, which had been saved or whose parents had been saved when he'd been working out in the field. And these were only the cars driving toward the nation's capital.

Sometimes, though the instances were few and far between, even he couldn't pretend that his work hadn't had massive consequences on the human race's ability to continue forward.

"Hey, Dad?"

Jack looked in the rearview mirror to find his eldest son sitting pensively beside a sleeping Grace.

"Grace fall asleep during the movie?" Jack asked with a small chuckle as if he'd expected her to fall asleep.

"Yeah," Charlie said, looking down at the young girl with an affectionate smile.

"So, you approve of your little sister?" Jack asked with a wink.

"Yep." Charlie said, nodding. "She's precious."

"Good, well, she likes you too," Jack said, soberly.

The O'Neill men fell back into silence for a few moments before Charlie inhaled. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about Mom the other day. I should have...I don't know...done something to avoid that."

"Don't worry about it, kid," Jack said, shaking his head, nonchalantly. "It's not really that big of a..."

"Yes, Dad, it is." Charlie said, passionately. "It is a big deal."

Jack simply raised an eyebrow as he waited, expectantly, for an explanation.

"It's not like I was sixteen years old, holding an unsupervised party or anything like that," he said in frustration. "At thirty years old, I should be able to suggest that I have some quality time with my sister so that my dad and stepmom can have some quality time to themselves without my mother instantly coming to the conclusion that my father and his new wife are taking advantage of me." Charlie sighed. "When Cassandra couldn't watch Grace, I should just have cancelled lunch with Mom."

"WHOA!" Jack cried, shaking his head, emphatically. "Uh uh. I'd rather have your mom thinking that I'm an irresponsible father who hasn't learned a thing over the last twenty years than have her think that you don't want to spend time with her."

Charlie sighed, becoming instantly quiet.

Jack looked in the rearview mirror to see him looking out the window at the cars passing by. He turned to look over at his sleeping wife. She had stirred at the sound of his outburst, but she and Grace had remained asleep through the entire thing.

She needed her rest, he thought to himself. But he couldn't help wish that she had woken so that she could help him. In all of his years, he'd never really learned some of the basic fundamentals of communication when it came to his children.

"Why don't I let you try to get a word in edgewise, hm?" Jack asked, apologetically.

Charlie turned back to his father almost uncertain before he nodded. "I feel like a kid, sometimes," he admitted. "When only a few days ago, I was still tending the fields of my farm. With no one hovering over me, no one to feel like they have to rush in and defend me against the other parent, and no restrictions."

"Restrictions..." Jack murmured, curiously.

"I can't drive because I've never learned, and even if I had, I wouldn't have a valid license."

"True."

"I'm living with you because I just got here a few days ago, and even now, I'm starting to think that was a bad idea."

"What?" Jack asked, instantly. "Why?"

"You and Mom, who hadn't even been speaking before I came back, got into a bit of a fight, I drove Cassandra back to school..."

"Charlie, that wasn't you."

"Yes, Dad," he interrupted. "It was."

Jack bit his lip as Sam stirred again. He could really use her help, he thought to himself. "Charlie," he managed a few moments later. "Maybe you're right, but it's not your fault in the way that you think it is," he said, seriously. "We're just ...all readjusting to having you back. Maybe in a few weeks it'll be a little better."

He could see Charlie's dubious look in the rearview mirror. "But even if that is the case, I'll see what I can do about helping you get your driver's license, getting you a job, and getting you into your own place."

"Thanks, Dad." Charlie said with a grateful smile.

They lapsed into silence before Jack inhaled. "So...any idea what you want to do?"

"Do?"

"The job..."

"Oh, right." Charlie said, nodding in understanding. "Uh...well, actually, there are a couple of things that I want to do or that I'm qualified for."

"Like what?"

"Well, like I said, I ran my own farm. I imagine it would be a different process here, but it's still basically the same, right?"

"I have no idea," Jack laughed softly. "Not really my forte."

Charlie cracked a small smile. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"But I'm willing to help you look into it," Jack said, sobering a little. "What else?"

Charlie inhaled. "Well, I...I always wanted to be a carpenter."

"Really?" Jack asked, surprised. "I thought you'd always wanted to be an astronaut."

Charlie smiled. "Yeah, okay, when I was like...five. And when I was six, I wanted to be a fireman. And by the time I was ten, I was going to be a professional baseball player."

"Yeah, I bet you're a little out of practice," Jack teased gently.

Charlie shrugged. "No one could seem to grasp the concept of throwing a ball, hitting it, and running to a pad on the grass."

"Maybe after the baby comes, we could have a family softball game or something," Jack suggested. "I mean, by then, it will be summer, and Sam's going to have a fit if we play, and we don't let her play too."

"I'm really rusty, Dad."

"So am I," Jack said, soberly. He hadn't picked up a baseball glove, ball or bat since Charlie had first been abducted. It had simply hurt too much.

"Maybe we can teach Teal'c." Charlie said with a small mischievous grin.

Jack laughed loudly at the thought of the alien taking part in the "American pasttime". "Oh yeah..."

They lapsed into silence again, and Jack looked back at his son. "So...carpentry..."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I don't know," he said, shrugging. "I guess I found it fascinating that a piece of...ordinary wood could be molded and shaped into something...I don't know, beautiful."

"You would have LOVED most of the planets Sam and I went to when we were on SG-1," Jack murmured with a smile.

"Why?"

"Lots and lots of trees."

Charlie chuckled. "I'm sure I would have."

Sam cracked an eye open. "Sure you would have what?" She asked, sleepily.

"Why, hello, gorgeous," Jack said with an affectionate smile. "Nice of you to join us."

"What'd I miss?" She asked, blinking quickly as she awoke.

"Nothing."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow as she turned to Charlie and then back to her husband. "Nothing?"

"We were just talking," Charlie said, shrugging.

"Okay," she said with a yawn.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yes?" She asked, turning to her stepson.

"I never got a chance to ask. When's the baby due?"

"May," she said, touching her belly.

"Girl or boy?"

"Well, we haven't had an ultrasound yet, but we're pretty sure that it's a boy," she sai, sharing a grin with her husband. "We're planning on naming him Jacob after my dad."

"Ah." He said, nodding.

Sam felt Jack's hand gently squeeze hers, and she turned a thoughtful smile to her husband as she remembered her father.  
Jack pulled her fingers up to his lips and gently kissed them, recognizing the thoughts that were probably racing through her head.

"When am I going to meet him?" Charlie asked, innocently. "Your dad, obviously...not the baby."

Sam tensed, trying to resist the urge to pull away from her husband. She swallowed as visions of her father's last few days washed over her with a renewed intensity of the pain of his loss. "He's, uh..."

"He died," Jack said as he exited the busy interstate and turned toward the Baltimore hotel they'd booked for their stay.

Sam nodded. "He got sick, and...after helping us with every ounce he had left," she swallowed. "He died."

"I'm so sorry," Charlie said, instantly apologetic.

"It's okay," she said, shaking her head. "I should talk about him more."

Jack patted her leg as they pulled into the hotel's parking lot.

"But Mark..." She said, forcing a smile to her lips. "You can meet Mark any time after we get back to Colorado. He recently moved to Denver, so...we can have a...a get-together."

"Who's Mark?"

"My brother." Sam said with a brighter smile.

"What about your mom?"

Sam's smile fell. "She...she died when I was fifteen."

"And...I'm batting a hundred," Charlie said, shaking his head apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Sam said, trying to shrug it off. "You're just curious about this whole...new side of the family."

"Yeah, but...I'm still sorry."

Sam managed a small smile. "Well, it's not like they aren't natural questions to have."

"Well, I sure thought so," Charlie chuckled in admission.

Sam offered a small smile as she looked back at him.

"And...we're here," Jack said, pulling up to the front of the hotel. "Sam, you want to check in or should I?"

"I can," she said, opening the door as she gingerly tumbled out of the car, catching the door handle in an effort to regain her balance.

"You okay?" Jack asked, worriedly.

"Fine." She said, nodding. "My leg just fell asleep while I was in the car. I'll be okay."

Grace gasped suddenly, causing all three adults to turn their attention to her.

"Grace, you okay?" Charlie asked, gently rubbing her back.

She nodded with her eyes closed. "Are we there yet?" She asked, sleepily.

"Yes, sweetheart," Sam said, almost apologetic that the little girl had awoken so suddenly. "I'm just going to find out which rooms we're in."

"Okay," Grace slurred as she fell back to sleep on Charlie's lap.

"We'll carry her in," Jack said with an affectionate smile on his face as he looked back at his daughter.

Sam nodded with a similar look mirrored in her own features. "I'll get our room set up."

Charlie sighed as she left. "Where we can sleep before she goes and fixes one of my many faux pas."

"Charlie, like I said," Jack said, looking back at his son. "We're in transition. Not just us, but you too. WIth a little patience and understanding, we'll get through this, okay?"

Charlie inhaled before nodding. "I sure hope so, Dad."


	50. Tough Love

Cassandra sighed as the elevator doors opened to her floor. Done with her errands for the day, she could look forward only to another lonely afternoon and evening in her quiet apartment. She reached for her keys and unlocked the door. She slipped inside, closing the door behind her, and set the bags by the front door before she removed her heavy woolen coat. She quickly set her keys on the small entry table before she looked at her reflection in the mirror which was mounted above it. She sighed softly before turning back toward the small hallway which would take her to her living room, bedroom or kitchen.

Sam stood in front of her, and Cassandra gasped in surprise. "You scared me," she managed a few moments later.

"Sorry." She said, sincerely.

"What are you doing here?" Cassandra asked, picking up her bags. "I thought you were supposed to be in Colorado Springs. Running a top-secret military base."

"Some things are more important than saving the world," Sam said as Cassandra walked past her.

"Like what?"

"Like finding out why you left a day early without a word to anyone."

Cassandra set the bags on the kitchen floor before she turned back to Sam. "You already called and asked me that."

"And you said something vague about "having lots of things to do before classes start"."

"I do have lots of things to do before classes start."

"Grocery shopping can be done a day later than anticipated, and you were already scheduled to leave about a week before classes began." Sam said, raising an eyebrow as she folded her arms over her extended abdomen.

Cassandra sighed as she turned back to her task at hand. "I don't have to explain myself to you. I'm an adult, and even if I wasn't, you're not my mother."

Sam inhaled sharply as she felt the emotional sting of the young woman's words. True, she had never become anything more than a legal guardian after Janet had died, but she'd always felt that there was some sort of maternal bond between them. Even if it was more like the bond of a favorite aunt to her niece.

"Maybe not," she said, trying to recover. "But if someone in my household said or did anything to offend you, I'd like to try and make it right."

"Nothing happened." Cassandra said, instantly apologetic for her tone and harsh words.

"That's not what Charlie and Grace told me," she said, soberly.

"I can't control what Charlie and Grace told you," Cassandra said with a small sigh. "All I know is that I felt like I would be more comfortable if I got back here a day earlier than planned. And in all the flurry of activity, I forgot to tell you. I"m sorry for that, but that's what happened."

"All right," Sam said with a shrug. "I thought it had something to do with Grace's prediction that you and Charlie would be married before graduation."

Cassandra tensed, visibly.

Sam sighed as she gently sat in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "The thing you need to know about Grace's...prophecies is that they don't usually happen in a way that you would expect and sometimes, not in the way that her dreams depict."

"This isn't about Grace's dreams," Cassandra said, looking up from putting away her groceries.

"No," Sam said, shaking her head. "Grace's dreams only revealed a problem that you don't want to face, don't know how to face, or are afraid to face."

Cassandra turned to look at Sam, almost astounded by her ability to read so deeply into her thoughts.

"It takes one to know one," Sam said with a small shrug.

"What problem?" Cassandra asked, trying to shrug off her insecurity and look as nonchalant as she wished she could be.

"The fear of loving and being loved in return." Sam said, softly. "It was a problem I was faced with until my father...or rather a hallucinated projection of my father pointed it out to me."

"I'm not afraid of loving," Cassandra said, quietly.

"There are several different kinds of love," Sam said, gently. "Maybe you're not afraid of loving someone like a mother, father, brother, or sister, but...I think you are afraid of loving someone like a romantic partner."

"That's absurd. I was engaged recently."

Sam inhaled, recognizing in Cassandra the same kind of bravado she, herself, had kept as a companion so many years before. "Yes, but you didn't really love your fiance. You said so yourself. And, evidently, he didn't love you or didn't feel loved enough because he went off to New York, and reunited with his ex-wife."

She could see the pain lining Cassandra's face.

"I'm sorry to be so blunt," Sam said, softening almost instantly. "But I really wanted to catch your attention."

Cassandra returned, once again, to her task, and Sam sighed. Within an instant, the food that Cassandra was putting away was whirling around the room as each item took its place in the kitchen. Cassandra turned to look at Sam, who looked considerably more drained than before. "Sit down. I think we need to talk."

Cassandra nodded as she sat. She looked over at Sam in utter concern. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Sam said, clearly feeling somewhat faint.

"Let me get you some juice and I'll be right back, okay?" Cassandra said, standing almost instantly.

Sam nodded. She didn't have the energy to fight with the young woman and a glass of juice sounded like it might just do the trick.

Cassandra returned with a glass of orange juice, and Sam took a sip before nodding. "Tastes good," she murmured.

"Are you sure you're all right?"

Sam shrugged. "I'm not sure. This...telekinesis seems to be more than my system can handle usually, but it also tends to show up when I'm in a life and death situation, so..."

"Well, take care of yourself, okay? And tell me if you need anything." Cassandra said, soberly.

"Yes, ma'am," Sam teased, gently. "Now, sit down, and let me talk to you."

Cassandra nodded, taking her seat again. "Okay."

Sam inhaled, remembering how hard it had been to hear the words she would utter to this young woman from the lips of the hallucinated image of her father. "Cassandra, I'm going to ask you a question, and I'm sure you don't want to answer it, but I'd really like you to."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow in suspicion before she nodded.

"Why does the thought of any lasting relationships frighten you?"

"They don't." She furnished quickly.

"I think they do," Sam countered. "Don't forget. You're more like me than I'd like to admit sometimes."

Cassandra blushed somewhat nervously, feeling utterly exposed to her maternal friend.

"It makes sense," Sam said, more gently. "You witnessed the destruction of your entire people at the tender age of twelve, and while the rest of your friends turn back to their mothers for guidance as they move forward in life, you're reminded that you've already lost two."

Cassandra swallowed hard as she tried to keep the tears from coming.

Sam inhaled, feeling her own heart break as she saw the tears about to come forth in Cassandra's eyes. "It probably doesn't help that you're struggling with the fact that you've now lost two young men that you were sure you were going to spend the rest of your life with."

Cassandra looked up to see the understanding in Sam's eyes, and she felt the barriers breaking within herself slowly as tears silently slipped down her cheeks.

"We never talked about it after the accident," Sam whispered, looking at where her fingers played absently with themselves. "I didn't know how to approach the subject without causing undue pain, and I left it up to you which was probably a mistake on my part."

Cassandra closed her eyes as she remembered Shawn, her boyfriend who had died in the car accident which had caused her lagging limp approximately five years ago. "We," she whispered, softly, as she tried to overcome the tears that were getting the way of her words. "We were talking about getting married..."

"I know." Sam said, softly. "The officers that I spoke to mentioned that Shawn had a diamond ring in his pocket when he died."

Cassandra blinked away the water that was affecting her eyesight as she swallowed. "He wanted to get married soon, but I tried to convince him that we should wait...I mean, I'd just lost my mother, we'd only met a few months before, and I wasn't ready..."

Sam nodded in understanding.

A sob welled up in Cassandra's chest. "If I'd only listened," she managed before she let her head fall to her arms which were folded on the table.

Sam leaned over and gently ran her fingers through Cassandra's hair, waiting until Cassandra was ready for the embrace that was waiting for her.

It was only a few moments before Cassandra sat back up and clung to Sam like the little girl she'd been when they'd first met. Sam wrapped her arms around Cassandra tightly. "Sh," she murmured, gently. "It's okay. You'll be okay."

"Why does it have to hurt so much?" Cassandra whispered, sounding more like Grace than like herself.

"Because we loved them so much," Sam whispered, remembering the many people she'd lost over the period of her life. Her mother. Both sets of grandparents. Martouf. Narim. Orlin. Daniel. Janet. Her father. "But that doesn't mean we should just stop loving in general. Even though we don't want to feel that way again. I believe that a life without love is a life that's not really being lived." She swallowed as Cassandra looked up at her. "And I'm saying that as the woman who was so career-driven that she ignored the relationship aspect of her life for far too long."

"You think I should just...marry Charlie because of Grace's prophecy?" Cassandra asked, earnestly.

Sam shook her head. "No. I think Grace's prophetic gifts are too...unrefined and vague to be used as the ultimate authority on anything."

"But..."

"But I think your reaction to it was more than just a worry that you were going to marry a complete stranger earlier than you felt comfortable. I mean, Grace's dream could have been interpreted in any number of ways. That one day, you'll marry a man who slips into the family as easily as Charlie has slipped into our family. And the graduation timing...that could just be a symbol of the ending of your single life and the beginning of your married life."

Cassandra nodded, understanding the logic.

"I think you were scared because you hadn't faced so much of the loss you'd experienced in your past." Sam said, softly, as she gently brushed one of Cassandra's errant strands from her face.

She nodded slowly. "You're probably right."

"Are we okay again?" Sam asked, earnestly.

Cassandra nodded with a small smile.

"Excellent. Now...Jack wants me to make sure you know that you're invited to join us for the rest of the few days we'll be here in the city."

"You're all here?" Cassandra asked, surprised.

Sam nodded. "Yep."

"I thought you'd just beamed in..."

"I thought about it," Sam chuckled. "Jack had other ideas...which included teaching Charlie how to drive on the interstate."

Cassandra's eyebrows widened.

"Which I consequently convinced him not to do." Sam winked.

"Oh, good." Cassandra sighed in relief.

"Come on," Sam said, standing. "I think the itinerary has everyone at the Smithsonian museums today."

"You know, I could go for that," Cassandra admitted.

"Then get your coat," Sam said with an amused smile.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Cassandra asked, studying Sam again. "I mean, you've been hospitalized or put on bedrest after the last few telekinetic attempts..."

"I'm fine," Sam said, brushing away her concerns.

"You're positive?"

"Oh, just get your coat," Sam said, shaking her head in playful annoyance.

"Okay, but we'll take my car."

"Good. I took a cab."

Cassandra chuckled softly as she pulled her hair from underneath the scarf she'd just fastened. "As long as that's clear."

Sam finished buttoning her maternity pea coat. "Come on," she said, taking Cassandra's arm. "Let's go. Jack's gonna get grumpy if we hold up his lunch plans."

Cassandra laughed as they walked out the door. "As long as Jack doesn't have to break his date with his tofu steak."

Sam giggled at the thought of Jack eating a steak made of tofu. "Never going to happen...the man can't even handle tofurkey."

"Tofurkey?" Cassandra asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Hey, I thought it would be a good idea for next Thanksgiving," Sam defended.

"Turkey's lean enough that you might as well give him a reprieve for Thanksgiving," Cassandra said, shaking her head.

"That's what I'm leaning toward," Sam admitted as they got to the car. "Still...the thought of Jack eating a steak that's really tofu..."

"Priceless," Cassandra agreed as they drove off.

* * *

"Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" Grace cried, running toward her mother with an enviable amount of energy.

"What is it, angel?" Sam asked from where she sat on a bench as she caught the young girl in her arms.

"We went and saw the Wright Brothers exhibit! It was awesome! And the Hall of the First Ladies...wow, their dresses were fancy! And there was a telegraph machine, and I got to push the buttons! It was SO COOL!"

"So, you are going to take a breath," Sam winked as Grace gulped for air.

"And we saw dinosaur bones, and I got this keychain..." Grace pulled out a keychain with a small insect on it.

Sam raised an eyebrow as she looked at her husband, who was just catching up to them. He merely shrugged as if to say that he hadn't been able to refuse her the small token of their time at the museum.

"And Charlie let me ride on his shoulders, and I was so high that I could see everything!"

"Everything?" Sam asked with an amused smile.

"Uh huh."

As Grace continued chattering, Jack walked over to where Cassandra was standing just to the left of the bench where Sam sat. "So, I take it that your talk went well."

Cassandra managed a small smile. "Yeah."

"Something on your mind?"

"Sam said some things that I didn't want to hear," Cassandra said with a shrug.

"But she was right?" He asked, knowingly.

She nodded somewhat hesitantly.

"She's good at that," he quipped.

Cassandra chuckled softly to herself though she was clearly engrossed in her own thoughts. "Charlie's not too shabby at it himself," she said, looking over at him for a moment before she turned her eyes back to the floor.

"Well, that he learned from his mother." Jack said, shaking his head. "I've never been one to say anything that anyone didn't want to hear."

Cassandra looked over at Jack with a small, amused smile of her own. "Yes, you big pushover, you."

"That's all I'm saying," Jack winked with a teasing smile.

They lapsed into silence, and Jack sighed softly. "Look, I know Charlie feels really badly about whatever happened out in Colorado. He's been beating himself up about it since we realized you'd left."

"I'm sure he has," Cassandra said, quietly.

"But?"

"No buts," she said, shaking her head.

"None at all?"

"I just...I'm not ready for a relationship right now."

"Did he ask you to be in a relationship?" Jack asked, curiously.

"Well, no." Cassandra said, shaking her head.

"Did he give you any indication that he wanted to be in a relationship right now?"

"Uh, well," Cassandra said, thinking back. "No. Not really..."

"Then, don't worry about it."

"I guess I am worrying about nothing," she said with a nervous laugh.

"Something that you and Sam have in common," Jack said, affectionately.

"We've got a lot in common," she said, nodding.

Jack sighed heavily as he wrapped a comforting arm around the young woman. "Yeah, you do," he said, softly. "So, it's no wonder that she loves you like a daughter."

Cassandra looked up, almost in surprise at the thought. "Really?"

"Since you first grabbed her arm and wouldn't let go," Jack said, nodding.

"I guess I always thought that since she didn't want to adopt me..." Cassandra mused, thoughtfully.

"It wasn't that she didn't want to," Jack interrupted, gently. "It was that she thought you deserved better than a single mother who was on the front line team of Stargate Command." He swallowed as he looked back over at his wife who was still chatting with Grace and Charlie about their day so far. "She knew what it was like to lose a mother, and she didn't want you to have to go through that again. Not if she could help it."

Cassandra swallowed down the tears that had begun to bubble up once again within her. "When she called me to tell me about Mom..."

She inhaled, trying to blink away the water that clouded her vision. "She couldn't stop apologizing. I was in shock, and didn't really pay attention, but I remember thinking how strange it was that she was apologizing so profusely for something she hadn't done. That she hadn't had any control over." She looked over at Jack. "I guess I know now why she was apologizing."

"None of us believed it would be your mom," Jack admitted. "It was far more likely that it would be one of us."

"Well, we wouldn't be here today like this if it had been," she said, quietly.

"Yeah, I know." Jack said, soberly.

"Is it time for lunch, Dad?" Grace asked, interrupting his thoughts and pulling his attention back to his family, who were coming to join them.

"Are you hungry?" Jack asked, shaking his melancholy from his thoughts.

"Yep."

"Then, it's time for lunch," Jack said with a wink as he picked the young girl up and in one swift motion dropped her onto his shoulders.

"Yes!" Grace crowed, triumphantly, as Jack walked her toward the car.

Sam shook her head in amusement as Charlie fell in step behind them. Suddenly, a pair of arms flung themselves around her neck, and Sam returned the embrace in surprise. "Cassie? What's wrong?"

"Thanks." She managed, hugging her tightly. "For everything you've ever done for me."

"You're, uh, you're welcome," Sam said, still more than a little flummoxed.

Cassie pulled back, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I guess we should catch up with them if we want lunch, huh?"

"Probably," Sam said, still confused.

"I'll get the car and meet you guys over there by the car."

"Okay," Sam said, nodding, as Cassandra left. She shook her head before catching up to her husband and children.

"What is it?" Jack asked, noting the look on her face.

"I'm not sure," she said with her brow furrowed. "She just...hugged me and thanked me. But I'm not even sure why."

Jack smiled softly before he pulled his wife close and kissed her forehead. "Well, you're a pretty phenomenal woman. I think everyone should want to hug and thank you."

She chuckled softly as she leaned up and kissed his lips. "You're something else, Jack O'Neill."

"Yep. That's you and me...Thing 1 and Thing 2."

She shook her head in amusement. "Yep. Something else entirely."


	51. Fine

"So, what's the plan for the rest of the day?" Sam asked as the waiter delivered their orders.

"Well, I was thinking that it might be a good idea to go back to the museums," Jack said, enthusiastically, as Cassandra turned a concerned look toward Sam.

"Yeah, Mom, you have to see the Hall of the First Ladies!" Grace announced instantly.

"I'd love to," Sam said with a small smile as she looked over at her daughter.

"Are you sure you shouldn't go back to the hotel and rest?" Cassandra asked, noting how tired and flushed Sam looked as she ate her lunch.

"I'm fine," Sam protested, good-naturedly.

Jack turned a look to Cassandra and then to Sam. "You sure you're all right, Sam?"

"I'm f-" Sam began again.

"She put away my groceries while she was at the apartment today," Cassandra interrupted. "With that...trick...that always seems to make her tired."

"I'm fine!" Sam protested, more loudly.

"I don't know, Sam. Maybe you should go back to the hotel and rest." Jack said, worriedly.

Sam threw him a look. "The last time you made me stay "home" from the festivities, the Chief's son kidnapped me and tried to trade me for his girlfriend."

"I believe there was also a headdress involved somewhere in there..." Jack said, somewhat facetiously.

Sam's look instantly informed him that she was less than amused.

"Honey, we're just worried about you."

"And I told you that I was fine." She said, looking over at Jack.

"Look, why don't we all go back to the hotel for a couple of hours. I think Charlie and Grace were both interested in swimming. You can take a nap or you can come swimming too, but we'll all just relax, okay? Then, maybe tonight, we'll come back out or tomorrow morning...whatever feels best."

"Yeah, Mom, I'm kinda tired," Grace lied, winning a look from her mother.

"And I'm in a little bit of a culture shock," Charlie admitted. "This is a lot different from the life that I'm used to living. Faster...more, uh, lights..."

"And I suppose that even though you didn't bring a swimming suit, you'd like to go swimming, huh?" Sam asked, turning an eye to Cassandra.

She shrugged, apologetically.

"Okay, okay," she said, raising her hands in surrender. "We'll eat lunch and then, we'll head back to the hotel where I will lay down and either take a nap or watch TV, and you will all go down to the pool area."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said with a somewhat amused smile as he kissed her temple.

"Don't even think about it," Sam warned.

"But you're so cute when you're defensive," he teased, gently.

She raised a warning eyebrow, and he raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood a little."

She sighed. "I know...I just...I hate feeling like I'm being patronized."

"Well, take it easy, and I'll try to do my best not to patronize you." He said with a teasing wink.

She managed a small chuckle. "All right, all right," she said, looking over at her husband. "Let's get this over with. Lunch. Rest. And...whatever "we" feel like we have the energy to do."

"See, that wasn't that hard, was it?" Jack asked as he turned back to his food.

He won another raised eyebrow from his wife though she didn't say a word. He looked down at his salmon as he prepared to take another bite. Boy, was he gonna get it when Sam felt comfortable enough to start a full-scale fight with him. Samantha Carter quiet when she had something on her mind was never a good thing.

"So, what are the plans for the rest of the trip?" Sam asked, quietly. "So that I can be...well-rested enough for those events?"

Cassandra and Charlie exchanged looks before returning silently to their food.

"We had plans to visit old friends, but it might be wise to head back. I mean, with what's going on at work, maybe you should be in Colorado. Not in DC."

"He's got a point." Cassandra admitted, somewhat reluctantly. "If you're really just here to make sure that I don't become some...lost sheep...then, you've done what you came here to do."

Sam swallowed, clearly trying to restrain herself from saying something that she might regret. "Let's, uh, see how "we" feel about it after dinner tonight, okay?"

Jack nodded, accepting this for the compromise that it would have to be. "Right. Lunch. Rest. Maybe a few museums, and then, dinner. Then, we decide what the plans are."

Sam nodded slowly as Jack gently reached over and patted her knee. "Even if we decide to just head right back home, I think we could probably make a couple of phone calls and see a couple of old friends while we're here."

Sam managed a small, but grateful, smile as she nodded more enthusiastically. "I'd like that, actually."

"Yeah, maybe we can see if Sonya's up for a visit."

Sam's smile widened significally.

"Who's Sonya?" Charlie asked, confused.

"She used to be my principal," Grace said, looking over at her older brother. "She and Mom became friends and Mrs. Martinez told her about me. And that I needed a family."

Sam smiled, tenderly, at the memory.

"She was the closest thing Sam had to a best friend when we lived out here." Jack said, softly.

"While Jack was stationed at the Pentagon," Sam said, nodding. She shook her head as she took another bite of her chicken fettuccine, suddenly more energized than she'd been since they'd walked into the restaurant. She motioned to her husband's plate. "Hurry up. I want to get this "rest time" over with so we can get onto the visits."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack winked before he continued eating his food. He turned to the others at the table. "You heard the woman. Hurry up."

"Yes, sir." Grace and Charlie said in unison with mock seriousness.

Sam's smile broke into a grin as Jack shook his head in mock shame. "We are gonna have to work on that," he sighed to himself as he tried to hide a grin of his own.

* * *

"And...they're gone," Jack said, closing the door behind Charlie, Cassandra, and Grace.

"Are you sure it's such a good idea to leave them alone together?" Sam fretted. "Last time we did that, Cassandra left without a word..."

"It's just for the next little while," Jack said, flopping onto the bed beside his wife. "While I talk to my wife. Alone."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yep." He said, looking up at her. "I wanted to apologize to her. Tell her that I'm sorry I was being so overprotective."

"No, you're not," she said with a small, affectionate, chuckle.

"Okay, maybe I'm not." He admitted. "But I am sorry that I got so overprotective that you felt steam-rolled."

"Apology accepted." She said with a tender smile.

"Good." He said, sitting up.

"You're leaving after we've just made up?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, skeptically.

"You don't want me to?" He asked with a charming smile.

She shook her head with a chuckle. "I believe the cliche is "kiss and make up". We've only done half of that."

"And I believe I've made it abundantly clear that my life's work is to avoid cliches at all costs," he teased.

"Oh, get over here and kiss me," she ordered, goodnaturedly.

He grinned as he got onto his knees and crawled over to her. "Yes, ma'am."

She giggled as he leaned over to kiss her.

He halted almost instantly. "No giggling, Carter. That's an order."

She tried to school her features. "Yes, sir."

He sat back on his heels. "Let it out."

Instantly, she continued giggling, blushing as she did so.

"Now," he said as her laughter began to subside. "Do you want to fill me in on what was so funny?"

She hesitated for a moment before she shrugged. "It was the, uh, "yes, ma'am." She said, apologetically. "Gets me every time."

"I see." He said, soberly.

"Jack..." She said, trying to study him.

"And it's funny because for about ten years, we were "sir" and "Carter"...not the other way around."

She shrugged. "Truth be told, I'm not exactly sure why, but it makes me laugh every single time."

He grinned. "Good. I like making you laugh."

"I like it when you make me laugh." She said, tenderly.

"You know, we've had four years of laughter and tears together," he said, quietly.

"Actually, it's been a little more than that," she corrected, gently. "Given the fact that we were engaged for almost two years."

He nodded. "While you were on Atlantis and then back at the SGC."

She sobered slowly. "Yeah."

"And then, we spent almost a year of our marriage separated by a galaxy while you were in command of the George Hammond." He said, gently running his finger over her thigh.

"Yes," she said with a playful smile. "But it was after one hell of a honeymoon."

"And then, you came home and found Grace." He said, still serious.

"We got pregnant." She added, feeling the pain of the loss of their first child wash over her again.

"We lost the baby." He continued with a somber note of sadness in his voice.

"And then, we moved back to Colorado Springs, I was promoted to Brigadier General and appointed as the commander of the SGC," Sam said, pensively. "That was an intense year."

"Yeah." He said, looking up at her. "And it's been hard even to get through the years since to this point." He said, gently touching her stomach with a faint smile. He looked back up at her. "But I wouldn't change a thing."

"Nothing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Except maybe waiting ten years for it." He said with a twinkle in his eye.

She laughed softly. "I thought you'd say that."

"But I wanted you to be ready." He said, earnestly.

"And I'm grateful that you waited." She said, sincerely. "What's this about?"

"This whole...love thing made me think about us." He said, taking her hand in his as he gently kissed her palm.

"I think we're pretty good," she said with a smile.

"Yep."

"Jack?" She whispered as she saw the sadness in his eyes.

"If I'd lost you back then," he managed with a small quiver in his voice. "Anywhere in the last fifteen years..."

"I know," Sam whispered with a hitch in her voice as tears welled up in her eyes. "I feel the same way."

"If I ever get overprotective," he said, turning his brown eyes to her blue ones. "It's because I can't live without you, and I've had to suffer through too many times where I wasn't sure if I'd have a second chance to tell you that."

She swallowed as she leaned in to hug him. "I know. And whenever I harp on your diet, I only do it because..."

"You love me." He finished. "I know."

She hugged him more tightly. "God, I love you so much."

"Me too," he whispered as his hand came around to cradle her head as it had so many times before.

A kick caught them both by surprise, and they pulled away as Sam rubbed her abdomen. "Guess this little guy felt a little squished," she said with a grimace and a chuckle.

"Yeah. Even I felt that one." Jack said with a small smile. He put a hand on her stomach, and gently rubbed the spot where she'd been massaging, and looked up at her. "You know, he might like it if you at least got in the water downstairs."

"Are you telling me that I'm released from my "mandatory stand down"?" She asked with a mischievous smile.

He laughed softly to himself. "As long as you're taking it easy, yes."

She grinned. "Let me grab my suit."

"Aw, do we have to wear the suits?" He whined somewhat childishly.

She just giggled.

"We're gonna have to do something about that giggling, Carter." He teased as he retrieved his swim trunks.

"Oh?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "And just what did you have in mind?"

"This," he said, recreating the kiss that only he remembered from the time loop. The top of Sam's tankini fell from her hands as he dipped her, carefully supporting her back with his good knee. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she returned the kiss.

When he pulled away from her and bring her back to an upright position, she gasped gently for air. "How is it that after four years of marriage, I never knew you could kiss like that?"

He smirked. "You know...you asked me that question once before."

She raised an eyebrow. "I did?"

"Not with the "after four years of marriage" preamble," he said, still smirking to himself. "But...there was once..."

"When?"

He tried to school his features into a deadpan expression, and her jaw dropped. "The crazy thing you wouldn't tell Daniel or me about." She said with instant recognition. "You kissed me!"

"Correction: I resigned and then, I kissed you." He said with a grin.

"And you waited all this time to tell me?"

"You would have wanted me to recreate it on a schedule," he shrugged. "This time, it was as spontaneous as the first one."

She shook her head and closed her eyes as she struggled to reach her suit, which had fallen out of her hand earlier. "You are full of surprises, Jack."

"And that's how I intend to keep it." He said, looking over at her with a smile. "For the rest of my life, if you'll have me that long."

"And longer," she promised as she leaned over to kiss him.


	52. Friends

"Oh my word, look at you!" A familiar voice called as Sam got out of the car at the small neighborhood park in Arlington, Virginia.

Sam looked up and grinned as she saw the short, Hispanic woman who had first welcomed her to the elementary school where she'd found Grace. "Sonya!"

"You couldn't pick up the phone to call and tell me that you were going to have a baby?" Sonya asked, walking over and embracing Sam with a grin of her own.

Sam grimaced apologetically. "Sorry. Things have been...crazy..."

"With all that was in the news, I'd imagine so," Sonya said, nodding as she led Sam to the picnic table while Jack and Charlie retrieved the tray of Subway sandwiches they'd brought for lunch.

Sam nodded. "Presidential cabinet nomination, heart attack, pregnancy...it all turned us into a couple of homebodies."

"You two?" Sonya asked in playful skepticism as she looked between Jack and Sam.

Jack laughed. "I know. I know. Hard to believe."

Charlie turned a questioning glance to his father, and Sam caught it. "I guess we forgot to fill you in on that. Your dad was asked to accept a nomination to the Presidential cabinet as the secretary of defense."

Charlie's eyebrows shot up. "Are you kidding me?"

"This was something like four or five months ago." Sonya said, surprised that the young man hadn't known anything about it.

"Sorry, Sonya, I forgot to introduce you to Jack's son, Charlie. He's been in the Peace Corps, working in Africa. He hasn't had access to the internet or television like the rest of us, and since we wanted him to focus on his service, we didn't worry him about Jack's nomination." Sam said, surprising Jack and Charlie with the ease with which she told the impromptu cover-up.

"Or heart attack," Charlie said, raising an eyebrow in his father's direction.

"I thought Jack's only son died," Sonya said, looking at Sam quizzically.

Sam swallowed. "Well, he did. But, you know how it works sometimes...children you didn't even know about sometimes come out of nowhere and just become part of your family."

Sonya nodded, somewhat skeptically, before she looked around excitedly. "Where's Grace? I hope you brought her with you..."

"Yes, we did." Sam said, pointing to where Grace and Cassandra were coming toward them from another car.

"Mrs. Martinez!" Grace cried, running toward the woman.

Sonya grinned as she stood and prepared for a giant hug from the young girl. "Grace! How are you?"

"I'm fine!" She said with a grin.

"Are these two treating you all right?"

"Yep."

"That's what I like to hear." Sonya said as she released Grace from the embrace.

Another car pulled up, and Jack looked over. "Here come Suzanne and Barry."

Grace looked up in surprise. "What?"

Sam smiled softly. "We couldn't come back to DC without seeing your foster parents, could we?"

Grace grinned as she ran toward a woman getting out of the car.

"I called Marcie Johnson," Sam said, looking over at her husband. "She said that she would be by with her fiance."

"Fiance?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," she said with a small smirk. "Major Paul Davis."

"Seriously?" He asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Apparently, she left the service at the same time that you retired. When the department had her farewell party, she got a chance to really talk to Paul, and they started dating only a few months after she started going back to school to study to be a paralegal."

"No kidding," Jack said, shaking his head.

"Apparently, Paul had a nudge from a superior officer to go to the party in the first place...given the fact that he'd really only talked to Marcie a couple of times when he was trying to make appointments to see you."

"Well, I think he works too hard. If someone managed to convince him to join in the celebration, I think that's great." Jack said with a deadpan expression.

"You set them up, Jack." Sam laughed softly.

"Me?" He asked, innocently.

"Yes, you." She chuckled. "You old softy, you."

"Sam! Jack!"

The couple turned bright smiles to Suzanne and Barry, who walked toward the pavilion with Grace between them. "How are you guys doing?"

"We're great," Suzanne said with a smile of her own. "You look like you're doing pretty well."

Sam looked down at her belly with a small chuckle. "Yes, well..."

"Congratulations." Barry said, more subdued than his exuberant wife.

"Thank you, Barry." Sam said with a grateful smile.

"Here come the lovebirds," Jack said, pointing to where Paul Davis and Marcie Johnson walked from a modest four-door sedan toward the pavilion.

Sam put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the winter sun as she looked over to where her husband pointed. Paul waved, and Sam smiled before returning the gesture.

Charlie shook his head, watching the whole thing unfold.

"What?" Cassandra asked, approaching where he was standing.

"Oh," Charlie said, surprised by her presence. "Just...feeling a bit like a third wheel."

"You too?" She asked with a small chuckle.

"What? You feel that way too?"

She shrugged. "I think I may have met one or two of these people while I was visiting Sam after the miscarriage, but..."

"Whoa," Charlie said, confused. "Miscarriage?"

Cassandra exhaled slowly. "About a year and a half ago, Sam was pregnant. She lost the baby near the beginning of her second trimester, and...truth be told, she's lucky to be alive today."

"I never knew." He said, soberly. A flickering memory of his own past came back to haunt him, and he retreated more deeply into himself in painful recollection.

"It's not something that they like to talk about." Cassandra acknowledged. She looked at Charlie, recognizing his sudden introspection. "But then, I guess you'd understand that."

He looked at her with his brow furrowed in confusion.

"You don't like to talk about her, do you?" Cassandra asked, her tone full of understanding.

"Not really." He admitted.

She nodded slowly as he looked over at her. "You've seemed really thoughtful since you and Sam showed up at the museum yesterday," he said, changing the focus from himself to her.

"Have I?" She asked, curiously.

He nodded.

She shrugged. "She brought up a few things that I would have rather forgotten...or maybe not, I still can't tell."

"Things as in...people you'd lost?" He asked, in understanding.

She nodded. "My village, my mom..." She swallowed. "My boyfriend, and now my fiance."

"Boyfriend?"

"Car accident." She said, calmly. "Sophomore year of college."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said, soberly.

"We had been talking about getting married," she said with a shrug. "And, I guess I thought that by ignoring it for the last six years, I had put it behind me."

"But you hadn't?"

"Not really," she said, shaking her head.

He nodded. "Yeah...the longer I'm here, the less I think about Guin, but the more it hurts when I finally do."

"I've found that after a while, you get to a point where you've cried all the tears you're going to cry, and felt all the pain you're going to feel, and life moves on." She said, softly. "Sometimes you think about something, and it hurts for a little while, but it's kind of...bittersweet instead of just pain. Because you're finally able to see past the pain, and be grateful that you got to have them in your life, even if it was just for a brief moment.

Charlie looked over at her. "You know, you're awfully wise for a twenty-something year old."

She managed soundless chuckle. "Wisdom comes with loss if you heal properly."

He nodded, thoughtfully, as he watched his family laugh and talk with their friends. "I guess pain like ours makes these moments a little more precious."

"Yep." Cassandra said, nodding, as she looked at the gathering.

"Cassandra?" He asked, looking back at her.

"Yes?" She said, turning back to him.

"I know that things got pretty awkward there at my dad's house."

"Charlie, you don't have to say anything." She said, shaking her head. "I understand."

"I just wanted to double check that we can still be friends." He said, earnestly.

She smiled softly. "I'd like that."

"Good." He said, returning to his watch over his family.

"I don't know about you, but I think someone should start in on the sandwiches," Cassandra said with a playful smile on her lips. "And I don't think it's going to be them."

Charlie grinned. "Lead on, fair maiden," he said, motioning for her to take the lead.

She giggled as she did as he had suggested, and Charlie found himself strangely glad that he could make her laugh after such a difficult topic as loss. Maybe Grace's prediction had more weight in reality than he wanted to admit even to himself, he thought to himself as he picked up a turkey sandwich on wheat bread.

The thought made his stomach tighten in nervousness before he shoved the thoughts from his mind. No good could come from getting worked up over something as innocent as a friendship with a young woman he'd only met a few days before. Que sera sera, he thought to himself. Whatever will be will be. That would be his motto when it came to Cassandra Fraiser.


	53. Home Sweet Home

"As you can see, there is a lovely view of Pike's Peak," the real estate agent said, motioning to the window.

Jack nodded. "Real nice."

Charlie nodded, amicably. "Yep. Nice."

"You'll have great access to shopping and the nightlife. And the bus line comes right through here if you're interested in that." She continued as they walked through the apartment.

Charlie nodded, in acknowledgement of the information.

"I think he was looking at something a little more like a...house..." Jack said after a moment of studying his son.

The woman laughed as if Jack had just told a joke. "Affordable housing here in Colorado Springs is usually found here in the apartments. Especially for a single bachelor like your son."

"I don't think you get what we're saying," Charlie said after a moment. "I get that this is a great apartment. But it's not me. And I'm not going to live somewhere that doesn't fit my personality."

The agent nodded after a brief sigh. "What were you looking for? Exactly."

"First of all," he said, looking at the walls which almost seemed to close in around him. "A house."

She opened her mouth, but Charlie continued. "I'm not Mr. Suave. I'm not going to have ladies around all the time. I'm not going to go out every night. I'm going to go on long walks outside. I'm going to go hiking. I'm going to try my hand at carpentry. And when I'm done with work, I'm going to be sitting on my couch by the fire, reading a book or watching TV. Got it?"

She nodded. "Yes, I think I've got it."

"Okay. Let's look at something more like that."

"Excuse me for just a minute," the woman said, pulling out her Blackberry as she turned away.

Charlie hung his head and shook hit repeatedly in frustration.

"Hey, maybe your mom or Sam has come up with something more promising," Jack said, optimistically.

"Yeah...right..." Charlie said, clearly getting discouraged.

"Hey, we'll find you something," Jack promised, gently squeezing his son's shoulders.

"You know what I wish?" Charlie asked after a moment had passed.

"What?"

"That the cabin was here. Not in Minnesota. Man, I loved that place."

"You and I should go." Jack said, seriously.

"With Sam pregnant and working while Grace is in school?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's never going to happen."

"We could do it," Jack said, nodding soberly. "I'm retired, and you don't have a job yet, so..."

"Yeah, rub it in." Charlie said with a sigh.

"I didn't mean anything by that," Jack said, looking over at Charlie, worriedly. "I mean, you've only been here for a few weeks..."

"Six weeks, Dad." Charlie said, looking over at his father. "I'm living at home at age thirty, and I've been here for six weeks.

"And..." Jack prompted, gently.

"I'm kind of tired of feeling like I'm this oversized kid."

Jack's brow furrowed.

"You and Mom try not to do it, but...you're not treating me like an adult...at least, not as much as I'm used to." He said, placing his fist against the wall so that he could stare out the window to the street below. "I mean, learning to drive has helped a little with that, but..."

"Living at home when you're used to having and working your own land is tough," Jack acknowledged.

"Okay, I think I have a house I can show you." The realtor said, coming back. "It's only a few minutes away, and I think it might be just what you're looking for."

Charlie raised a skeptical eyebrow as he followed her. "That's what she said about the last six apartments," he murmured almost soundlessly to his father.

"Walter!" Sam called as she flipped through the hundreds of reports which had been filed since she'd left on bedrest. She'd spent almost every night since returning from DC reading at least ten of them, and she'd still only barely scratched the surface. Would that the base would take an actual holiday so that she could catch up, she thought to herself facetiously.

"Yes, ma'am," the Chief Master Sergeant asked as he poked his head in the door.

"Where's the file I asked you for this morning?" She asked, digging through another stack of files.

"Top right hand drawer, I believe, ma'am." He said, solemnly.

"What?" She asked, skeptically, as she opened the drawer. She suddenly became quite sheepish as she realized he was right. "Yep, it's right here," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I noticed you put it in there when you took out the PowerBar this morning," he said with a small shrug.

"Thank you, Walter." She said, sitting back down in the chair.

"Can I get you anything, ma'am?" He asked, compassionately.

"Uh, yes, actually...can you order a pizza? Just have one of the SFs pick it up and charge it to my card."

"Veggie pizza." He said, nodding. "Yes, ma'am."

She looked up. "No. Not veggie."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Not veggie?"

She shook her head, looking back down at the report. "Supreme. With anchovies."

The general's aide turned slightly green. "Yes, ma'am," he said after a moment. "I'll get that taken care of for you."

"Thank you, Walter," she said, leaning back as she looked at the file. The picture that met her eyes made her smile. "It's perfect," she murmured to herself.

"Look, Charlie, we'll find what you're looking for," Jack said, looking over at his son who was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, staring out the window in frustration and disappointment. "It'll just take us a little longer than we first anticipated."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "A little longer than we first anticipated? We've been working on this for six weeks already!"

Jack shrugged. "Look, most people only have a cabin here for…you know, recreational purposes. They go down to the cabin for weekends and holidays, and stuff. They don't really live there."

"There's got to be something out here that will work…"

"And I'm sure there is," Jack soothed. "And things will work a little more to our advantage when we fire that realtor and force the others to really focus on the properties that match our descriptions."

Charlie shuddered. "Yeah, she was terrible, wasn't she?"

"Couldn't seem to grasp the idea that you wanted your space from the social scene," Jack chuckled.

Charlie chuckled softly as they pulled into the driveway.

"Looks like Sam's home," Jack said, somewhat surprised to see her SUV in the driveway.

"What? She wasn't supposed to be home yet?" Charlie asked, looking over at his dad.

He shrugged. "She's a bit of a workaholic. She doesn't usually get home until after the sun goes down."

"Hm. I wonder what she's doing home." Charlie mused, thoughtfully.

"No time like the present to find out," Jack said with a small chuckle.

Charlie smiled as he slid out of the truck and down to the ground before closing the door behind him.

"You know, kid," Jack said, catching up to his son.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"I think you need a haircut," Jack said, tugging on his son's ponytail.

Charlie laughed softly. "Yeah, I think you're right about that."

"I mean, if you're not careful, we might just give you one of our old bikes and a leather jacket…"

"You have a motorcycle?" Charlie asked, eyebrows high with absolute surprise.

Jack put a finger up to his lips. "Sh. I was supposed to sell them about five years ago."

"How do you keep that a secret?" Charlie asked with an eyebrow raised.

Jack coughed, uncomfortably. "Uh…Daniel has a bunch of things in storage…he thought he was going to a colony off-world but never got his stuff, and so…I, uh, might have, um…stuck them in his storage unit."

Charlie laughed, loudly. "Seriously?"

"Well, Sam fixed them both up, and I didn't think they should go to just anybody, and so…"

"You hid them in Daniel's storage unit where they wouldn't be used?" Charlie asked as they walked into the house.

"You hid what in Daniel's storage unit where they wouldn't be used?" Sam asked as she walked over to kiss her husband in greeting.

"Uh, just a couple of my tchotchkes from the old place…you know, bachelor pad memorabilia and all that." Jack said, smoothly.

Her brow furrowed in confusion as a dubious smile settled on her lips. A moment passed before she shook the thoughts from her head. "I have a surprise for you, Charlie."

"Me?" Her stepson asked in surprise.

She nodded with a grin as she turned back toward the kitchen table. "Come on."

Jack and Charlie exchanged confused looks before Charlie shrugged. "Let's go."

Sam placed a hand under her abdomen as she eased into a chair at the kitchen table. "Ooph," she breathed as she finally got situated.

"You okay?" Jack asked, joining her at the table.

"Fine." She said, nodding as she retrieved a thin file.

"You're sure."

"Just big and pregnant," she assured.

"Right." He said, pausing for a moment as he leaned over to sit down before he finally followed through.

Sam shook her head in amusement before turning back to Charlie. "I know you've had a lot of trouble finding just the right place."

Charlie sighed. "Yeah, Dad and I were out practically all day with this realtor who didn't seem to be able to grasp anything I told her about my personality."

Sam tried to contain her excitement as she pushed the file toward him. "Well, hopefully you won't ever have to see her again."

Charlie gave his stepmother a quizzical look before he opened the file. Instantly, his look was exchanged for one of absolute gratitude. "How did you find this?" He asked in awe.

"I asked for some help from my aide, Walter."

"He's a whiz," Jack testified, though he hadn't seen the photo.

"Dad, look at this place!" Charlie cried, showing his father the photograph.

Jack's jaw dropped as he looked at the photo. "Are you crazy? He can't afford that! WE couldn't even afford that!"

"It's been foreclosed on," Sam said, calmly. "It might need to be fixed up a little bit, but that's why I'm here - so that you two can go take a look while I pick Grace up from school."

"And what better thing for a carpenter than a house that needs some fixing up?" Jack asked, somewhat cheekily.

He won a small chuckle from his wife and son as they shook their heads.

"Uh, take the next right," Charlie said, reading from the directions that Sam had given them. "Then, the cabin will be the first stop on our left."

"Okay, here we go," Jack said, following through on his instructions.

"Hopefully it doesn't need too much work," Charlie murmured to himself. "I mean, I love you guys and all, but it would be nice to move in as soon as I can drive myself in and out of here."

"You want to be rid of us that quickly?" Jack teased.

Charlie shook his head, wordlessly, as Jack turned into the driveway and parked. "Well, son, here we are." He said, turning off the engine.

Charlie inhaled, nervously, as he looked past the trees which shielded the house from the view of passing cars on the highway.

"You ready to see if this is the place?" Jack asked, looking at his son.

Charlie swallowed before nodding.

Jack opened the door, putting his keys into the pocket of his jeans as he slipped out of the car. Charlie took another breath before following his father's example.

The property was fairly reminiscent of Jack's house in Colorado Springs from before his promotion to the Pentagon. It was carefully landscaped, but woodsy in its landscaping. With berry bushes and coniferous trees surrounding the property, Charlie felt like he'd escaped to the foreign forested country of the world that he'd called home for so long.

Jack gently hit Charlie, causing him to look in the direction that his father was pointing. A modest shed was hidden only a few yards from the path on which they were walking.

He could see himself working in that shed.

Charlie continued down the path to the small cottage-like building that seemed to be the main residence. It was small, and fairly reminiscent of his father's cabin in its design, but it had been built with wood and stones.

"It looks almost too old to be for real," Charlie managed in shock as he touched the smooth stones that seemed to serve as the protection for the fireplace and chimney.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Jack said, looking around the building. "But it looks solid…even if it doesn't seem like anyone's been here for a while."

Charlie looked over at the grass which averaged to be six inches tall before he turned his eye to one of the broken windows. "We can fix that," he said, touching the unbroken pane above it.

"You could have a couple of chairs out here to sit when it's warmer, and still, no one would know you were here." Jack observed.

"I could go for that," Charlie said, biting the inside of his cheek, seriously.

"But it's also not too hard to find." Jack said, looking back toward the car. "I mean, it might be a little confusing once they get to the driveway to find the house, but that's not as bad as not finding the address at all."

Charlie nodded, pensively, as he looked out over the property. Thoughts of drinking coffee on the front porch in the early morning as he watched the sunrise, working in the shed behind the house, and remaining fairly hidden from the busy streets of Colorado Springs were all things that made this property particularly attractive to him. The fact that blackberries were some of his favorite fruits, and that the bushes were everywhere on the property, was an added bonus.

He could grow old in a place like this, he thought to himself.

"I take it that this time, your silence is a good sign," Jack said, studying his son.

Charlie just nodded, unable to speak as thoughts filled his mind with all of the possibilities.


	54. Stuck

"Sam, are you ready yet?" Jack asked, looking at his watch, nervously.

"I'll be ready when I'm ready!" She announced, poking her head out of the bathroom with an irritated look on her face.

"Sorry," Jack apologized instantly as he heard a knock on the door.

"Hi, Charlie," he heard Grace greet at the door.

"Hey, little lady. You ready to have some fun?"

"You bet," she said with a grin as Jack walked out of the bedroom and toward the entry.

"How's the new car?" Jack asked, noticing the keys in Charlie's hand.

"It's fine," Charlie said with a smile. "I'm still a little embarrassed that Mom and Tim bought it for me, but…"

"Hey, Sam and I found you a place to live. It was only natural for Sara and Tim to want to do something." Jack said, shrugging.

"Let's get this over with," Sam said somewhat grumpily as she walked out of the bedroom, dressed in navy blue dress with short sleeves and a faux wrap bodice that came only to her knee. Her hair was swept away from her face in a French twist, and everyone could see that her choice of outfits was based on her extreme discomfort.

"You look great, hon," Jack said, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

She sighed softly without a response. "Come on, the sooner we leave, the sooner we can come home." She swallowed before forcing a smile to her lips. "Hi, Charlie."

"Hi, Sam." He said with a sympathetic smile. "Bad day?"

She inhaled slowly. "Just…a long one. Apparently, we're going to lunch with Daniel and Vala…on base. Which I still don't fully understand…"

"It's because Dr. Lam isn't sure she wants Vala to leave the base this close to her due date." Jack said, putting one hand on her back as he tried to soothe her mood with a subtle back rub.

"Yeah, well, I'd rather stay home." Sam said, pulling away from him as she reached for her jacket.

"Here," he offered, taking the jacket from his wife. "Let me help you with…"

"I am a perfectly capable human being," she snapped, taking the jacket back. "I can put my jacket on by myself!"

Jack turned an apologetic look to his son and daughter. "We should be back in a couple of hours."

Charlie nodded. "Don't worry about us. We're just going to the park with Doc."

"Really?" Grace asked, turning earnest eyes to her older brother.

"Yep." He said with a grin. "I never got a dog, so I have to live vicariously through you."

"You never got a dog?" Grace asked, eyes wide. "I thought it was an O'Neill rule!"

"Then, they made it after me." Charlie said with a small chuckle.

"Call us if you need anything." Sam said, struggling to put on her jacket.

Jack reached toward the coat, but Sam ripped it back off, and threw it on the table in the entry. "Forget it…I don't need a coat. It's hot in here."

"Yes, but it's not going to be hot out there," Jack said, reaching for the jacket as Sam walked toward Grace.

Sam kissed Grace's forehead. "All right, sweetie, I love you. Be good, okay?"

Grace peered into her mother's eyes, worriedly. "You sure you're okay, Mom?"

"A little grumpy, maybe," she admitted, softening slightly. "But that's just because I didn't sleep very well last night. You're gonna be good?"

Grace nodded, earnestly.

"Good. That's my angel," Sam said, kissing her daughter's forehead again.

"We should be back before bedtime, but you'll probably have to handle dinner," Sam said, looking up at Charlie.

"No problem, Sam." He said with an encouraging smile. "Have fun."

She sighed as she slipped her arms, submissively, into the jacket that Jack had prepared for her donning. "I'll try."

* * *

Sam sighed as she and Jack walked into the Cheyenne Mountain complex. "Tell me again why we're going to the mess hall for lunch instead of a restaurant?" She grumbled as she placed a hand under her belly to counter the added weight as she walked beside him.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Daniel said that Vala's been acting a little crazy lately because she's been cooped up on the base too much."

"She's acting crazy because she is crazy," Sam said, sharply.

"Ouch." Jack said, looking over at her.

Her face showed instant contrition. "I'm sorry, Jack, I think I just...woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I'm nauseated, my back and feet hurt, and I just...want to be at home in a nice hot bubble bath."

"Can't elevate your temperature too much..." He said, absently.

"Which leads me to my next complaint," she said with a sarcastic smile. "I'm DONE being pregnant."

"The little guy has other thoughts," he mused, pensively.

"Look, I know I just started the third trimester, and I really probably shouldn't be complaining right now because it's just going to get worse, but..."

"You'll feel better when we get down there, I promise," he said with a tender smile. "Okay?"

She sighed as she shrugged her jacket from her shoulders. "Fine," she murmured as they entered the elevator to go to the top-secret levels of Cheyenne Mountain. Sam placed her security card into the slot before selecting their desired sub-level number.

She backed up to rest her back and head against the cool metal of the elevator.

"Sam?"

"It's a little warm in here," she said from behind closed eyes.

Jack studied his wife for a moment before he looked forward again. "I have a confession to make..."

She raised an eyebrow, looking at him silently.

"We're not going to lunch with Daniel and Vala."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she groaned.

"Look, Teal'c and Walter...helped Vala plan a...baby shower..."

"No wonder you wouldn't let me wear your t-shirt and shorts..." She said, closing her eyes as she let the back of her head hit the metal again.

"Well, that was more to do with the fact that it's...March...and it's forty degrees and raining outside..." He said as his brow furrowed.

She handed him the jacket she'd just taken off. "It's just...hot, okay?"

He studied her carefully. "You sure you're okay?"

She shot him a withering look.

"Just...double checking."

"I'm fine," she murmured as she returned to her regular position and closed her eyes again.

The elevator came to a sudden stop, and Sam cracked one eye open. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

Jack didn't answer, only stepped forward to the elevator console and pressed the sublevel button again.

"What good do you think that's going to do?" She asked, sharply, as she took her place at the console.

"Uh, I figured I'd try to determine whether or not we were actually stuck or not," he said, eyeing her as he tried not to take offense at her tone.

She reached for the phone, pressing the receiver to her ear. "Damn, it's dead too."

"How's that possible?"

"I don't know!" She snapped. "Some of the redundancies in power must have failed."

"Hey, I'm not trying to push your buttons here," Jack said, seriously. "But if you keep it up, it's going to be a long day stuck in an elevator."

If looks could kill, Jack would have died there on the spot.

"I'm going to try my cell."

"Coverage in the Mountain is bad and coverage in elevators is notoriously bad." Jack said, skeptically.

"Would you rather try climbing out or should I?" Sam asked, expectantly.

Jack sighed. She had a point. With his heart and her pregnant frame, they were never going to get out of the elevator without outside help.

"Do I have permission to go ahead with my plan, sir?" She asked, eyeing him carefully.

"Hey, that wasn't called for," he said, simply.

She turned her back to him as she hit the "send" button on the phone.

"What is this about, Sam?" Jack asked, more calmly. "Are you in pain? Are you scared?"

"Hello?" Sam called, ignoring her husband's question. "Walter? Is that you? Walter, you're breaking up! I'm stuck in the elevator…No, don't do that! Come on, we're stuck between sublevels 16 and 17. Don't hang up. I can't call…" She pulled the phone away from her ear. "Well, that was a waste of time."

Jack bit his tongue.

She rested her head against the metal enclosure before she wrapped her hands around the railings on the elevator, and gently eased herself down to the ground. She closed her eyes as she felt tears slip down her cheeks in physical and emotional weariness.

"C'mere," Jack murmured as he sat down beside her.

She felt her body begin to shake with the onset of sobs as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward him. "I don't even know why I'm crying anymore," she cried as she clung to him.

"Sh," he soothed. "It's gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay."

* * *

Grace stared out at the rain with a small sigh.

"We'll go to the park when it stops raining," Charlie promised as he brought her a plate of the pizza they'd ordered.

"It's just like my dream," she whispered, quietly, as she turned back to receive the offering.

"What dream?" Charlie asked, lightly, as he sat down on the couch to eat his lunch.

"The one I had when we got to the hotel on our trip," she said, looking over at him with a forlorn expression on her face.

Charlie's brow furrowed. "I don't remember you saying that you had a dream," he said, casually.

She swallowed. "I saw Mom and Dad leave. They were going to lunch with Daniel and Vala, Mom was grumpy, and she was wearing that jacket she was getting angry at."

"What happened in your dream?"

"I never saw Mommy again." She said, sotto voce, as she turned back to look at the rain outside.

* * *

"So, this was all an elaborate plot to get me here for a baby shower," Sam said, looking up at her husband from where she sat, nestled beneath his arm in a protective embrace.

"Yep." He said with a small chuckle. "And the funny thing is that it was actually supposed to be a double baby shower."

Sam's brow furrowed. "Really?"

"Yeah. Teal'c was in charge of the invitations, I guess, and he made it a surprise baby shower for both you and Vala."

She chuckled softly. "That's Teal'c. Sneaky as ever."

Jack looked over, studying his wife as he did so. "Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?" He asked, sincerely.

She managed a grateful smile despite the exhaustion written in her eyes and on her face as she shook her head. "This is pretty comfortable."

"Are you sure?" He asked, gently.

She nodded.

"Well, if it gets too warm, let me know. I'll take my jacket off or rub your feet instead of combining my body heat to yours," he said after a moment.

"I'll let you know." She said, closing her eyes as she rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"Sam?" He asked after a moment.

"Hm?"

"Do you remember the last time we got stuck? Just you and me?"

She chuckled softly to herself. "How could I forget? You, me, and your sidearm."

He smiled before sobering. "I still can't remember everything about that mission, but I do remember how glad I was that you were there to help me."

"I'll never forget what you said to me when I talked about not having any regrets," she murmured, her eyes open in recollection.

"Oh?" He asked, surprised.

She nodded. "You said "I'll regret dying"." She bit her lip. "And then, you called out for Sara, and I thought for sure that you would come home, call her up, and be back at happily ever after."

"But I didn't," he continued.

"I know. I always wondered why."

"Some bridges are so far gone that it's better to start over with a new bridge than to repair the old one," he said, sagely.

He received no response from his wife, and looked over, only to find her with one hand on her stomach and her eyes closed in pain. "Sam?" He asked, worriedly.

There was still no response, and Jack inhaled. "Sam, breathe," he commanded, gently.

She managed a strangled gasp for breath.

"What's wrong?" He asked, pulling away from her so that he could face her.

She shook her head as if she didn't know.

He gently reached a hand to the spot that she was touching on her stomach, and felt the tightening of the muscles. "Sam, honey, I think that was a contraction," he said, soothingly, as he looked at his watch. 2:12.

She nodded as the pain began to ease, and she began to breathe more easily.

"Sounds little Jacob is interested on making this the O'Neill party of three instead of just you and me." Jack said, trying to relieve a little tension.

"It's too early," Sam whispered, nervously.

"This could be one of those Braxton-Hicks contractions that Tim was telling you about," Jack consoled, gently.

She shook her head. "I've had those. These are not Braxton-Hicks."

"Well, then, I guess it's time to think of another way off this elevator so that we can get you to a doctor," he said, gently, eliciting a nervous and almost sick look from his wife.

* * *

"They're not answering their cell phones," Charlie reported to his little sister.

She bit the inside of her lip, trying not to cry.

"Hey¸" he whispered, kneeling in front of her. "It's probably just because they're at lunch with Daniel and Vala. I'm sure they'll call back just as soon as they're finished."

"I knew it," she cried, softly. "I just knew it."

"Knew what?"

"That I should have said something."

"Why didn't you?" Charlie asked, curiously.

"Because whenever I say something about my dreams, something bad happens." She whispered, tearfully.

He wrapped his arms around her, tightly. "They'll be okay, Grace," he whispered, gently.

"Come on," Sam grumbled as she pressed the "end" button on her cell again.

"Still no reception?" Jack asked from where he stood, hoping that the emergency response to activate.

"None." She said, shaking her head.

"How's Junior?"

She looked down at her belly, gently rubbing it with a small sigh. "He's awfully quiet. Not moving much."

"How are you?" He asked, kindly.

"I'll be okay," she said, managing a thin smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Jack walked back over to where she sat, carefully sliding down the metal siding to join her. "You know, under the best circumstances, I'd expect you to be nervous," he said, reaching for her hand and bringing it to his lips in an uncharacteristic display of affection.

"Another of your magical pep talks?" She asked, affectionately.

"Only if it works," he said with a small smile as he kept her hand in his.

"You know, when I was stuck on the _Prometheus_…when I saw Grace…"

"Yeah?"

"You came and gave me a pep talk then too."

"Did I?"

She nodded. "You said to get up off my butt and save myself."

He laughed softly. "Sounds like me."

"I think I said something about you coming to give me a pep talk, and you said something about that being something that friends would do," she said, pensively.

He looked at her, waiting for her to finish the story.

"I really had to confront my feelings for you there." She said after a moment.

"How so?" He asked, curiously.

"My dad came and gave me a speech about how I wasn't living life to its fullest. Yes, I was doing things that no one I knew outside of work could even have dreamed, but that I was alone because I was afraid." She swallowed. "Pretty much the same speech I gave Cassandra."

"He was a wise man, your father."

She nodded, slowly. "I needed to get past you." She said after a moment. "I had to know for myself that it wasn't just a reaction to your authority as my commanding officer." She swallowed. "Which is why I dated Pete."

He nodded, processing what she'd just shared with him. "I can see that."

"And then, I got closer to the wedding, and it wasn't Pete's face I was seeing in our house, and with our kids, and with our…dog…" She looked back over at her husband. "It was yours. So, I came to talk to you."

"And found Kerry."

She shifted, uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah."

"What?" Jack asked, noticing her tension at the name of his ex-girlfriend. "I thought we made peace with that years ago."

"Contraction," she clarified from where she'd twisted into what seemed to be an awkward, but comfortable position.

"Oh, right…" He said, apologetically. "Sorry. Can I do anything?"

She shook her head, quickly. "Just…be quiet."

He nodded instantly.

* * *

"Daniel, they're over an hour late," Vala complained.

"I know. They're not answering their phones."

"So, call the house."

"Well, I doubt that they're there." He said, skeptically. "For all I know, they went to the hospital."

"Her due date is at least six weeks after mine." Vala said, dubiously.

"I didn't say it was likely. Just said it was possible." He said, defensively. "Besides, it could have been Jack…I mean, it's not impossible to think that a man who had a heart attack only six months ago could have another."

"Daniel…"

"I'm calling, I'm calling." He said, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"O'Neill residence," Charlie greeted as he answered the telephone.

"Charlie? It's Daniel Jackson."

"Hi, Daniel." Charlie said with a smile. He turned back toward his younger sister. "Grace, it's Daniel."

She looked up, interested.

"How was lunch? I hope you're sending my dad and Sam home soon. Grace is a little nervous."

"They're not there?" Daniel asked in surprise.

"They're not with you?"

"Uh, no." Daniel said after a moment. "When did they leave?"

"An hour and a half ago or so. I thought they'd be on their way home soon." Charlie said, turning away from Grace so that he didn't worry her.

"Have you been able to reach them on their phones?"

"No. You?"

"Uh-uh."

Charlie swallowed. "Grace had, uh, a dream."

"And?"

He glanced back at Grace, who had started to tear up again, before he turned back to the phone, and covered his mouth and the receiver with one hand. "She thinks she's never going to see Sam again."

"I'll see what I can find out here." Daniel said, urgently. "See if they came into the Mountain, and just haven't come down for some reason."

"Call me when and if you find them." Charlie said, earnestly.

"Will do." Daniel said, instantly before hanging up the phone.

"They're in trouble, aren't they?" Grace whispered, timidly, as Charlie turned back toward her.

"I'm sure they're just…I'm sure they're fine," he said, trying to keep the doubt in his mind from entering his voice.

* * *

"Here," Jack said, rolling up Sam's jacket and putting it under her head so that she could lay down more comfortably.

"Thank you," she said, gratefully.

"So…you're in labor while we're stuck in an elevator," Jack said, trying to lighten the mood. "Very cliché, little guy." He said, looking at her stomach. "And you know how I feel about those…well, actually," he said, looking up at his wife. "You know how I feel about those."

She smiled in appreciation of his little joke.

"Are you feeling okay?" Jack asked, concerned. "Can I do anything to make you more comfortable?"

"I'm fine," she said, calmly. "How are you?"

"Uh…a little nervous. Not gonna lie."

"Me too." She admitted, softly.

"Hey, at least you were watching when Daniel delivered that Argosian baby."

"Oh, yeah," she said, trying to manage a confident smile. "Really appreciated the token "you're a woman, do something" look you all gave me."

He chuckled softly. "And of all of us, Danny knew, who would have guessed?"

She inhaled slowly.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

"It's too early," she whispered, fearfully. "He's not ready." She swallowed. "I'm not ready."

"Look at me," he commanded, gently, causing her to look up at him looking more vulnerable than he'd seen in a long time. "You're going to be just fine. He's going to be fine."

"You don't know that," she managed as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I know you." He said, gently brushing away the strands of hair that had slipped out of her French twist and slipped into her face. "And I know you don't leave anything unfinished which is how I know you'll be okay. And this baby has endured too much to just give up now. So, you're going to be okay because you'll never leave him alone, and he'll be okay because he's been through too much to give up now."

She inhaled slowly. "You think so?"

"I really think so." He said, seriously.

She grimaced, and he reached for her hand, trying to offer her what little comfort he could. A clear liquid began to saturate the ground around him, and he looked away, distracted for a moment.

"That…was my water…" Sam groaned as the contraction eased.

"Oh boy."

* * *

"You're sure that they checked in at the surface." Daniel said, from where he sat, speaking on the phone.

"Yes, Dr. Jackson. Brigadier General Samantha Carter signed in at 1:07. She brought her guest, Retired Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill with her at the same time. It says so in the log."

"Where did they go after they signed in?"

"To the elevator. Like everyone else."

"And from there?"

"How am I supposed to know? I just make sure no one gets in or out that isn't supposed to." The SF paused for a moment. "Although…"

"What?"

"You know, we've been having some trouble with the elevator."

"What kind of trouble?"

"It's, uh, not responding when we call it. I thought your guys might be working on the problem."

"They probably are," Daniel said, thoughtfully. "But they might not know if there are people on board. Thanks!"

He hung up the phone before turning to Vala with an urgent expression on his face. "I've got to talk to someone. I'll be right back."

Vala sat back with a piece of cake in her hand and a party hat on her head, not even looking at him as he left the room. "Go," she sighed. "Save the day. Leave me alone. I don't care."

* * *

"SILER!"

The Sergeant turned in surprise as he heard his name being called. "Dr. Jackson!"

"Do you know what's going on with the elevator?"

"There seems to be some sort of malfunction." He said with a shrug.

"Is anyone on there?"

"I don't know. As far as I can tell, no one has pulled the emergency alarm."

"Is there any way that wouldn't be working?" Daniel asked, looking over at the elevator doors somewhat nervously.

"I guess there's always a chance," Siler said, skeptically. "But…"

"General O'Neill and General Carter checked in on the surface, but no one has seen them down here." Daniel interrupted. "Is there some way to verify whether or not they've been trapped in the elevator?"

"I don't know," Siler said, thinking to himself.

"Come on! Something! Anything!" Daniel demanded, desperately.

"Uh, we have a camera in there. I'm not entirely sure that it's operational though, and without the elevator…"

"Great, we'll go talk to Walter. See if he can patch the video through to the computers up there," Daniel said, hurrying up the stairs to the control room.

* * *

"You know, you could take a little bit of a nap. I think that would be good for you," Jack murmured as he sat with Sam's head resting in his lap. He gently stroked her hair which they'd pulled out of the twist.

She licked her lips, tiredly. "I'm thirsty," she murmured.

"I wish I had something for that," he said, apologetically.

She forced herself up and reached for the large purse she'd begun carrying around with her when she first got pregnant.

"What do you need?" Jack asked, kindly. "I'll get it."

She pulled out a water bottle and a power bar. "Here." She said, handing him the food. "I'm not terribly hungry right now, but I think you could use the energy."

"Thanks." He said, gratefully.

She sat back against the wall as another contraction hit. She closed her eyes, trying to breathe deeply. Jack could see in her face that the pain was getting more intense with each contraction.

"I feel so useless," he admitted as he opened his power bar.

She cracked one eye open in surprise.

"I mean, you're doing the labor thing, you've got a 72-hour-kit in your purse, and I'm just sitting here. Doing nothing."

"You're not doing nothing," Sam said as she managed a smile. She reached for his hand. "You're keeping me calm."

"I should be able to get you out of here," he said, seriously. "I should be able to get you to a doctor. That was the plan."

"Plan A never works out." She said, grimacing again as if caught off-guard by a second contraction that was considerably closer to the first. "And in this case, Plan B is having this baby in the elevator."

"And Plan C?"

She closed her eyes and swallowed. "I don't think there is a Plan C."

"There's got to be a Plan C. I can't deliver this baby." He said, seriously.

She gripped at his hand, squeezing tightly, as her expression changed to indicate her desire to stay strong. Beads of sweat had begun to collect on her forehead as her face flushed a deeper shade of red with each contraction.

"I'm sorry," he apologized instantly. "I know you don't have any control over the timing. I just…"

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Never mind." He said, instantly. The last thing she needed to hear were his own fears about whether or not everything would go well.

* * *

"I'm not getting any response to the equipment we have in the elevator." Walter said, grimly. "The emergency provisions are off-line for some reason."

"Did we lose power to anything?" Daniel asked, curiously.

"No." Siler said, shaking his head. "We would have noticed it long before now if we had."

"So, the elevator has some sort of virus."

"I don't think so," Siler said, dubiously. "It's not possible for an elevator to have a virus. I mean, who would want to infect an elevator."

"Something that was trying to eliminate some sort of escape." Daniel said, instantly. "Has anything unusual happened on the base? Any unusual gate activity…"

"Well, there was an incident a few hours ago," Walter said after a moment. "But I doubt it's responsible…"

"Just humor me," Daniel prodded.

"It was some sort of anomalous power fluctuation that piggy-backed through the open wormhole with SG-6. We ran a diagnostic, but everything came up clean."

"You remember that entity that came through and infected Sam ten years ago?" Daniel asked, urgently.

"Yeah."

"That seemed like an anomalous power fluctuation and power surge too." He said, soberly. "Now, I want you to try a system-wide check of the computers. Find out what this virus is doing and where it's going."

Walter began typing on the keyboard. "The controls are not responding."

"What?" Daniel asked in surprise as he turned back toward the computer screen.

The entire gate room went dark without even the aid of emergency lighting.

"I guess we just found its next move," Walter said, swallowing.

* * *

"Why is it taking them so long?" Sam groaned as she held her belly with one hand as she struggled to find a comfortable position.

"I don't know," Jack said, gently.

"We've been in here for at least two hours…"

"Closer to three, I would guess," Jack said, looking at his watch.

"I wonder if anyone even knows that we're in here," she thought, almost defeated by the very thought.

"We had an appointment. I'd bet that by now, Danny's figured out that something's wrong. I mean, if he can't reach us on our phones, and he calls Charlie at the house, they'll figure out that we're somewhere between there and here, right?"

She managed a wan smile. "You're right."

"Let's not talk about whether or not we're getting out of here," Jack said, gently touching her leg. "Let's talk about something else."

"Like what?" She asked through clenched teeth as she clutched at his hand with the onset of yet another contraction.

"The kid's middle name. We haven't settled that yet."

"No," she chuckled, breathlessly. "We haven't."

"Ideas?"

"I'd like to give him a good name with a lot of history and…" She held her breath for a moment before she panted an exhale. "Meaning." She finished.

"Well, we've already named him after your dad."

"Your dad's name was Clifford, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but, uh, I don't think…no." Jack said, shaking his head.

"Well, I'm a little busy at the moment," she snapped. "So, what are your ideas?"

"Hammond."

She looked at him almost instantly.

"Hammond. After George…"

"I know who it's after." She interrupted.

"You don't like it?"

She sat back for a moment, thinking. "Jacob Hammond O'Neill."

"Or, we could go with Carter."

"I like Hammond." She said, soberly. "We owe him a lot."

Jack nodded slowly. "Do you remember when that computer thing took you over?"

"Not exactly something I'd like to remember right now," she admitted. "But, yes."

"After you, uh, " he coughed slightly in an effort to hide his emotion. "After you were initially zapped by the computer, and we weren't sure what was going on, Hammond stopped me. He said that he knew that you meant a lot to me."

"What'd you say?" She asked, curiously.

"That you were a, uh, valuable member of my team." He swallowed. "Hammond was kind enough to believe my lie."

"You weren't lying," she said, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "You were just emitting a piece of information that would only cause hurt and confusion."

He wrapped an arm around her back as he gently kissed her forehead. "Yeah, but I think Hammond knew what was going on. Especially after that whole za'tarc testing incident."

"I think half the base knew what was going on after the Virus of the Touched incident." She said, closing her eyes.

"You mean, besides us?" He teased, gently.

She smiled softly as Jack pulled her just the slightest bit closer to him, resting a protective hand on her stomach. "I'll be quiet so that you can sleep, okay?"

"Just a little nap…" She murmured. "Then, I'll be ready to get off this elevator."

He inhaled slowly as he wondered how they'd manage to get themselves out of this mess.


	55. Escape

"Landry wants the base in quarantine until we can figure out what exactly is going on." Mitchell said, looking at Daniel as he hung up the phone.

"What about Sam and Jack?" Daniel asked, urgently.

"We've got the best people working on getting them out of there, Jackson." Mitchell said, soberly. "But it looks like we might have some bigger fish to fry."

"Yeah, well, Sam's pregnant. And she's had a rocky pregnancy so far too…"

"I know that," Mitchell interrupted. "But there's nothing I can do. Unless you can magically fix the problem, we're stuck working on this problem as fast as we can."

"At least try to get some supplies down there. Food, water…"

"Believe it or not, Jackson, I'm not a complete moron. I've already tried to get that taken care of."

"But…"

"But all of the supplies are down here, and Siler estimates that they're between sublevel 16 and 17. Just a floor or two above the official command."

"You're kidding me. This is a territorial dispute?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. It's a quarantine situation." Mitchell said, soberly.

"And what happens when we finally get the elevator working again?"

"Hopefully, we'll have eradicated whatever virus is holding it in place," Mitchell said, seriously.

"And if there's an emergency situation?"

"Jackson, I'm following orders. Now, I explained the situation to Landry, and he assured me that since it's a technological quarantine, as long as we don't open a channel to infect other facilities, we can allow General O'Neill and General Carter into the facility."

"Thank heavens for small blessings," Daniel said, sarcastically.

"She's my friend too, Daniel." Mitchell said, earnestly. "And if she was here instead of me, she'd say the same thing."

Daniel gave him a disgusted look before he stormed out of Sam's office. "Excuse me, I have to go find out how I can expedite this whole thing so that my friend doesn't have to suffer any longer than she needs to."

* * *

Sam leaned against the wall of the elevator, gently exhaling as she tried to focus her mind on the task at hand. "How close are we now?" She asked, looking over at her husband.

"I'm not exactly sure." He said, nervously. "I mean, it's not like I can see a head or anything…"

She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the sweat from her eyes as she tried to look over at him. "Show me how dilated I am," she said, moving her thumb and forefinger so that he would know how to symbolize the opening.

"Uh…" He said, carefully measuring with his fingers before he showed her. "This much…"

"That's about nine centimeters." She said, closing her eyes. "We have some time, but we're getting close."

"Yeah, but…"

"Jack." She said, looking over at him, clearly getting tired.

"Yeah?" He said, looking up at her.

"We just need to accept that this is how It's going to happen," she said, calmly. "It's happened to other people. We're going to be just fine."

He nodded though she could see the doubt in his eyes.

"Where's that O'Neill bravado?" She teased, dryly. "I could use some right about now."

"Sam, if anything happened…"

"It won't." She said, shaking her head.

"But if it…"

"It won't," she interrupted, passionately. "You've already said it won't, and you're a man of your word."

He nodded, noting how pale she seemed. He scooted closer to her, and gently wiped her brow with the arm of his sleeve.

"When were you sure that you wanted to marry me?" She asked with a faint smile.

He paused in surprise before he rocked back on his heels in thought. "I don't know…I guess when Daniel came through from that alternate reality and said that you and I had been engaged in that reality, and you said it was "theoretically possible", I started to think about the possibility, but…I don't think I really knew for sure…until…"

"Until when?" She prompted, reaching for his hand.

He looked at her before he gently brushed away a tendril of sweat-drenched hair from her face. "I didn't know until I saw you on the other side of that goa'uld force shield."

She managed a weak smile. "It was the alternate Sam who came through that made me think about the possibility of marriage." She said, quietly. "I mean, I knew I was attracted to you, and it bothered me that you didn't think of me as one of the guys or as "the girl" either, just another body on your team when Daniel mentioned that, but…" She swallowed. "It was when you kissed her…that's when I knew I'd fallen in love with you." She sighed softly. "And then, you didn't come through the Gate from Edora, and I lost my mind."

He looked at her, surprised.

"I don't think I slept at all for those three months. I just…pushed and pushed to get you home." She inhaled slowly. "And then, I saw you with Laira." A tear slipped down her cheek. "I didn't know it could hurt that much to be so in love with someone so…unavailable."

Jack saw the emotional pain in her face. "I hate it when you cry," he admitted, wiping the tear from her cheek. "And I hate thinking that you've kept these secrets locked up inside you for so long."

"Hey, I got the guy, didn't I?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Yep." He said, leaning over and gently kissing her lips. "And I got the best girl in any of the galaxies I've ever been to."

"I'm not sure that's true," she chuckled, softly.

"Hey, you're the only one giving birth to my child right now," he said, kissing her clammy hand as he held it between his warm ones. "That makes you the best."

"I know I've been a pain to live with lately," she said, softly. "But I love you."

"I know." He said with a small smile. "I love you too."

* * *

"What exactly happened to Sam in your dream?" Charlie asked, noticing how quiet Grace was as she continued to pull into herself.

"I don't know," she admitted after a long pause.

"But…"

"She was asleep for a long time, and then, Dad came out and told me that she wasn't going to wake up again."

"What about the baby?" Charlie asked, concerned.

"I don't know!" She sobbed.

He swallowed before slipping away and retrieving the phone. He looked at the list of phone numbers that Sam had neatly printed on the whiteboard in the kitchen. He bit his lip as he dialed and then put the receiver to his ear.

"Hello," Cassandra greeted, absently.

"Cassandra, it's me, Charlie."

"Charlie?" She asked, instantly engaged. "What's going on?"

"Uh, Grace is convinced that she's never going to see Sam again. And, unfortunately, I'm not any help."

"Whoa, whoa, start back from the beginning," Cassandra ordered, gently.

"Sam and my dad went to the Mountain for lunch with Daniel and Vala. But a few hours ago, I got a call from Daniel saying that he hadn't seen them, and wondering if they were going to show up anytime soon."'

"A few hours ago?" She asked, surprised.

"And that was at least an hour after they were supposed to be there."

"So, you don't know where they are."

"Daniel called and said that he thinks they may be stuck in an elevator, but that's all he knows."

"And Grace is certain that Sam's not coming back? From being stuck in an elevator?" Cassandra asked, dubiously.

"She says that Sam's going to be asleep for a long time, and then, Dad's going to come up to her, and tell her that she's never waking up."

"She may be describing a comatose patient. And that doesn't necessarily that the person's never waking up…"

"Everything I say to try and make her feel like I'm taking her seriously is just making her more and more insecure." Charlie said with a sigh.

"Do you think she'll talk to me?" Cassandra asked, curiously.

"You can try," Charlie said, honestly.

"Charlie?"

"Hm?"

"I know it's hard, but if you don't manage to convince yourself that they're going to be fine, Grace is going to pick up on it." She said, gently. "So, if you have any concerns…"

"I know," he interrupted, wiping a hand across his face. "I just…don't know what to do."

"Breathe," she commanded, gently. "And keep me posted. If I need to, I'll come out, okay?"

"I didn't call you so that you could give up your studies…" He said, shaking his head.

"I know." She said, seriously. "And I won't unless something's really wrong." She promised. "Now, can I talk to Grace?"

"Sure." He said, offering the phone to Grace. "It's Cassandra. She'd like to speak to you."

"Grace?" Cassandra greeted, gently.

"Hi, Cassie." The seven-year-old said, quietly.

"Charlie says that you're scared."

"I had a dream."

"He told me that too." Cassie said, compassionately. "But you need to know. Your mom and dad are the strongest people I know. No matter what's going on, they're going to do their best not to leave you alone."

"Promise?"

"I can't make any promises," Cassandra said, apologetically. "But if something happens, I will be there. That I can promise."

"I don't want Mommy to go away," she whispered, on the verge of tears.

"I don't want her to go away either," Cassandra said, softly. "And Charlie doesn't want her to go away either. Neither does your dad."

"You really think they're going to be okay?"

"I hope so." Cassandra said, seriously. "And they'll have a better chance of being okay if you believe that they're going to be okay."

"Okay."

"Love you, kiddo."

"I love you too, Cassie."

"All right, let me talk to Charlie, okay?"

"Okay." She said, offering the phone to her older brother.

"Cassandra?"

"Is she as calm as she sounds?"

"I think so," Charlie said, studying his sister.

"Good. Now, I want you both to go to bed. I know it's early, but I think you're both emotionally wired enough that rest is really what's going to help everyone the most. Keep the phone by your bed, and keep tabs on what's going on, but just…breathe. Grace needs someone fairly stable right now."

"Okay."

"And if you need anything or if you get any news, one way or the other, I want you to call me, okay?"

"Okay." Charlie said, nodding.

"Charlie?" She asked before hanging up.

"Yes?"

"It probably wouldn't hurt to pray."

"You read my mind," Charlie said before he hung up the phone.

Dear God, he thought to himself, help them.

* * *

"Sam, I need you to push," Jack said, looking up at his wife.

She nodded, taking a moment to steel herself for the exertion before she complied with his order.

"Rest." He said after a few seconds of pushing. "And then, we'll push again, okay?"

"We?" She asked, dryly.

Jack offered an apologetic smile. "Now…push."

Her face turned red with the effort of the push.

"Again." Jack said a few moments later.

"I can't," she cried, clearly at the breaking point in her emotional and physical strength.

"Push, Carter. That's an order!" Jack cried.

Sam instantly pushed again.

"I see a head!" Jack cried, almost in awe. He looked up at his wife, who seemed absolutely worn.

"I can't do this anymore," Sam said, shaking her head. "Not here. Not in this elevator. It's too hot…"

"Come on, hon," Jack said, putting a sympathetic hand on her leg as he looked into her eyes. "You can do this."

Sam nodded, slowly, accepting his pep talk. She prepared to push again as the elevator dislodged, rattling the passengers in its sudden descent.

"No, no, no," she cried, in pain. "Stop….stop the elevator!"

"Come on, Sam, just a few more pushes." Jack said, trying to keep her focused.

Sam steeled herself again, pushing with the last of her strength.

"I've got a head," Jack said, catching the baby's head. "Another push."

She managed a second push to pass her son's shoulders through the birth canal before she let her head fall back to the wall as tears fell from her eyes in utter exhaustion.

The baby's cry was instantaneous, and Jack pulled the baby closer to himself as he cut the umbilical cord. "It's a healthy baby boy," Jack said, proudly.

Sam managed a tired smile as she tried to force her eyes open to look at him. "Bring him over here," Sam murmured as she somehow raised her arms to hold her son.

Jack scooted toward her, careful not to jostle the baby who was now nestled in the jacket that Sam had shrugged from her shoulders only a few hours ago. "He looks like a Jacob," Jack said, proudly, as the elevator returned to its route. "See how he scrunches up his face? I mean, that look is the look your dad would give me any time he was patronizing me."

Sam reached a hand toward her son, who latched onto her finger instantly. "You're so beautiful," she managed, emotionally.

"Come on, baby, open up those eyes so we can see if you got Mommy's baby blues." Jack said, peering into his son's face.

"Jack," Sam murmured, faintly, as she leaned her cheek on his shoulder.

Jack put a hand over the baby's eyes. "I know, it's bright. We should cover his eyes. Maybe he'll open them then."

"Jack," she tried again.

"Nope. No luck." He said after a moment. "But he's perfect, isn't he? Ten fingers, ten toes…and all of this brown hair."

Sam didn't respond, and Jack turned. "I mean, brown hair isn't that bad. I'd rather he looked more like you, but…" He looked over to find Sam's eyes closed. "Sam?"

There was no response.

"Sam?" He cried, more loudly, as the elevator doors opened to reveal a bewildered Siler and Daniel.

Jack placed a hand to his wife's neck, fearing the worst. When a faint heart beat met him, he was both appeased and terrified. "Get a medic," he ordered, turning to Daniel.

"Get a medic!" Daniel yelled toward the control room. "We need a medic!"

"Medical team to the elevator on Sub-Level 25." Walter announced over the intercom.

"Why couldn't you have waited five more minutes to move the damn elevator?" Jack asked, turning a fiery look to Siler as he remembered how much pain that the shift had caused in his wife's already tormented state.

"I didn't do it, sir." Siler said, seriously.

Jack stopped for a moment, thinking through the events. He looked down at his newborn son, now crying with the tension which had overcome the group. "The elevator moved after Sam said she didn't want to be there anymore…"

"Sir?" Siler asked, confused.

He swallowed as he looked up. "I think she moved it telekinetically."


	56. Fallout

Dr. Carolyn Lam wiped her face with one hand, wearily, as she walked out of the isolation room that General Samantha Carter was being set up in.

"How is she?" Jack asked, looking up at the doctor from where he'd sat awaiting whatever news would come his way.

Carolyn swallowed. "She's in a coma."

He closed his eyes as the thought of living without her swelled in his mind.

"Sir, we're doing everything we can right now, but we have one hand tied behind our backs."

Jack looked up in confusion.

"We're technically under quarantine conditions." She explained.

He put a hand to his head as he bent down over his knee. "You're kidding…"

"It's not what you're thinking, sir," Carolyn assured, quickly. "It's a technological problem. Not a medical one. In fact, as far as I understand it, this was probably the reason your elevator got stuck."

"Of course it was," Jack said, acerbically. "Now, how is this going to affect my wife's treatment?"

"Well, sir, as of right now, I can't even send an email to any of the specialists that I know." She said, swallowing. "Which isn't just going to affect Sam, it's going to affect your baby too."

"How?"

Carolyn inhaled slowly. "He's ten weeks premature. And with all of the turmoil…"

"What?"

"Well, he's not doing well either."

"Then, I guess Sam was right," he said, expressionlessly. "Neither one of them were ready."

"Maybe if you'd had access to a hospital that was equipped with the necessary tools to handle premature birth…"

"We don't, Doctor." Jack snapped. "And my wife and son are the ones who are suffering."

"We're doing everything we can," she said, firmly.

"Then, why are you out here talking to me?" He cried, angrily. "Get back in there and save my wife!"

"Please calm down, General," she said, calmly.

Jack shot her a look. "I'm going for a walk." He said, turning and leaving the infirmary.

Carolyn sighed softly before she turned to the nurse nearby. "How's the baby doing?"

The nurse didn't answer, only let her gaze fall to the ground.

"I was afraid of that." Carolyn said with a sigh. "Get Dr. MacKenzie on the phone. I need General O'Neill emotionally well enough to help in there."

"Ma'am?"

"A father's love can work wonders," she said, quietly.

* * *

Jack walked down the corridors. Every gray concrete wall reminded him of his wife. Only a few steps away from here, she'd cornered him with the listening device and asked him if she should gather more information on the alien who was haunting her house.

In the time since then, that alien had died and come back as a brain-damaged ten-year-old boy, but the memory was still as clear in Jack's memory as it had ever been.

It was only a few steps in the opposite direction where he and Sam had been speaking when a horse from Rya'c's wedding party/refugees had slipped between them, breaking the all-too familiar haze between fantasy and reality in their relationship.

In a corridor like this one, he had broken through a blast door and opened the Pandora's box which had led to Sam's consciousness being downloaded into a computer and then transferred back into her body.

The sound of the firing torch caused Jack to turn toward the sound.

"Siler?" He asked, confused.

The Sergeant stopped his work, pulled off his mask, and turned back to the retired General. "General O'Neill." He greeted. "How is General Carter?"

"What are you doing?" He asked, changing the subject instantly.

"It's strange…this computer virus didn't make any of the same mistakes as the other entity thing that took over General Carter's mind years ago…I mean, at least until now."

"What'd it do?"

"Shut itself up in the MALP room. Our orders are to blow it up."

Flashes of his fight with Daniel ten years ago about the value of the scientific interrogation of the computer which had nested in the MALP room popped into his head.

"Good riddance," Jack said, taking a step in the opposite direction. A moment passed as he remembered the pain this new virus had caused for his wife and son. "On the other hand," he said, turning. "Let me do it."

"You, sir?"

"Yes, Siler." He said, taking the explosives from the technician. "Me."

* * *

_"Grace," a voice called, gently waking her._

_"Mommy?" She asked, stirring with the sound of the voice.  
_

_"Hi, angel," Sam greeted as she tenderly brushed the tendrils from her forehead. "Have a good rest?"_

_"I had a bad dream," she admitted, slowly.  
_

_"Tell me about it," Sam said, calmly._

_"Charlie came over to babysit me." She began, put into a bit of a trance with her mother's gentle stroking. "You and Dad left to go to lunch with Daniel and Vala." She swallowed. "And then, you didn't come back. You wouldn't answer your cell phones, and Charlie called Daniel…"  
_

_Sam put a hand up. "That wasn't a dream," she said, gently._

_"But…"  
_

_"But everything's going to be all right."_

_"Do you promise?"  
_

_"I promise."_

_"Where are you?"  
_

_"Right here."_

_"No, I mean…"  
_

_Sam placed a finger on her daughter's lips. "I know what you mean."_

_"Mommy, I'm scared."  
_

_"You don't need to be scared, Grace," Sam assured. "You're very brave."_

_"But…"  
_

_"I'm right here, Grace," Sam said, softly. "And no matter what happens, I'll always be there to protect and watch over you."_

_"Like my other mommy?" Grace whimpered, softly._

_"Sh," Sam said, returning to her stroking. "Go to sleep."_

_"I don't want to go to sleep, Mommy. I don't want you to go."_

_Sam rested the back of her head on the headboard as she began humming a familiar tune. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are…"_

* * *

"Finally doing what you couldn't do ten years ago, huh?" Daniel asked from where he stood just inside the isolation room, watching his friend stare at his lifeless wife.

"What do you want?"

"Jack, the fact that Sam's comatose doesn't mean that she won't wake up," Daniel said, taking another few steps into the room. "This doesn't mean that we give up hope."

"Hope…" Jack said, derisively. "What is hope but a golden opportunity to get hurt?"

"You don't really believe that."

Jack turned to face his friend, instantly. "I don't? We get married, and we hope to have a family. The first chance we have at having our own baby, and we lose it."

Daniel sighed.

"We move here to recover from that. We try again. Nothing. Then, finally, by some miracle, we get pregnant. And I have a heart attack, she has these nightmares about our baby being a goa'uld and me dying, and we push through it all because we have this…damn…hope." Jack swallowed, looking back at his wife who was connected by tubes and wires to the machines and IVs all around her. "Now look at where we are. Neither my wife nor my son are going to make it. That's what hope as brought us."

"Hope made the pain bearable, Jack," Daniel said, quietly.

"Oh, and the hope of one day finding Sha're really fixed the fact that she was Apophis's mate?" Jack spat.

Daniel swallowed, and Jack looked at his friend almost ashamed of his harsh words. "Look, Danny, I'm…"

"You're hurting. You're bound to say something inappropriate," Daniel said, clearly hurt. "I mean, we couldn't even keep you from saying something inappropriate when our lives were hanging in the balance. Why should this be any different?"

Jack sighed as Daniel turned to go.

"You know, Jack, I get the irony that you're almost completely back at Square One twenty years after the first mission, but…" Daniel inhaled. "Just remember that you have Charlie and Grace to think about now. And if they lose Sam, they'll hurt, but if they lose Jacob too…just because you wouldn't go and see him…" Daniel inhaled. "Well, that might be the kind of thing that even you can't just charm yourself out of."

Jack just watched Daniel leave without a word before he sighed and turned his attention back to his wife. He reached for her hand, gently taking it into his own. "I'm sorry," he whispered, softly. "I just…I can't do it right now."

Sam's silence did nothing to comfort him.

* * *

The insistent ringing of the telephone pulled Charlie from the depths of his restless sleep.

"Hello," he answered, somewhat groggily.

"Charlie, it's Daniel."

Instantly, Charlie was awake. "Have you heard anything?"

"They were stuck in an elevator. With the base's position under the mountain and the notorious dead zone of the elevator, they weren't able to answer their phones. But they're out now."

The sound of Daniel's voice caused Charlie to rethink his initial reaction. "If that's the case," he said, slowly. "Why, uh, didn't they come home and tell us that?"

Daniel swallowed, taking his time. "Sam went into labor while they were stuck." He swallowed. "She, uh, had the baby in the elevator."

"She wasn't due for another…two and a half months."

"Apparently, an early labor wasn't unexpected," Daniel said, slowly. "But she wasn't in a medical facility, and we were under quarantine…

"Don't tell me," Charlie said, wincing as he prepared for what bad news Daniel was preparing himself to share.

"It seems that Sam managed to free the elevator so that it returned to its normal route." Daniel said, barely loudly enough for the young man to hear. "And in the process, she weakened herself enough so that she is now lying in the infirmary in a coma."

"The baby?"

"Fine. For the time being. But your dad? He's a mess."

Charlie swallowed. "Is the quarantine over? I mean, maybe if Grace and I…"

"The quarantine is over, but you'd need special visitors' passes, and I think there might be some plans to move Sam to a better facility, but…let me check with Mitchell and call you back, okay?"

"Okay. We'll wait for your call." Charlie said with a small sigh.

"I promise. I'll call when there's something more to tell you."

"Thanks, Daniel." Charlie said before hanging up the phone and running his hand over his eyes in weariness.

* * *

"Well, I think it's been eradicated," Siler announced as he walked into the office.

"That easily?" Mitchell asked, surprised.

"Easily?" Daniel asked, jolted from his thoughts with the word.

"Yeah. Didn't General O'Neill just…blow it up?"

"Oh, yes, that makes everything easy." Daniel snipped, sarcastically.

"We've looked for any trace of the virus in our systems. We can't find it."

"Any reports of it getting out of the base?"

"We haven't heard anything." They said, shaking their heads in unison.

"So…gone?" Mitchell asked again.

"It's too easy." Daniel said, shaking his head. "Way too easy."


	57. Haunted

_Sam's eyes slowly opened as the sunshine bombarded her closed eyelids. Her lips slowly turned upward in a smile as she saw the loving eyes of her husband looking down at her._

_"Been there long?" She asked with an affectionate smile._

_"Only all night," he teased, gently, as he leaned down so that his face was just inches above her own face. "I just love watching you sleep."_

_Her warm inviting lips accepted the tender kiss which he offered her just then. She giggled softly as he pulled away._

_"What?"_

_"Do you know how much I love you?" She asked, looking up into his eyes as she lay in his embrace._

_"You show me every day." He said with a tender smile. "How about you? Do you know how much I adore you?"_

_"Always and forever." She whispered with a sober smile._

Jack opened his eyes from where he sat in the commissary, face down on the table.

"You know, sleeping with your face in your pie isn't exactly the best way to handle this," Vala said, sitting down across from him.

"Go away," Jack groaned, closing his eyes again.

"Well, I'd rather be "bothering" Daniel," she said, rolling her eyes. "But he's run off somewhere, and I don't have the energy to keep up with him at the moment."

"Leave me alone," Jack said, sitting up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Vala asked, looking at him, soberly.

"See, now you're sounding like Daniel."

"The hazards of spending so much time with him," she said, leaning back in her chair as she placed her hands on her stomach.

He looked at her for a moment before he stood. "I don't have time for this. I have to figure out a way to save Sam."

Vala sighed as he left. "Wonderful. Alone again."

* * *

Charlie gently touched Grace's shoulders as they walked out of the now-operational elevator. "It's okay," he said, gently. "You're really brave."

Grace's lips quivered as she looked up at him, nervously.

He swallowed as Daniel walked away from where he'd stood, speaking with a guard, and toward them. "Hi," he said, somewhat grimly.

"Hi, Daniel."

The archaeologist handed a badge to each of the O'Neill siblings. "Here, keep these on. They're your visitors' passes."

"How's Sam doing?"

"Same as she was when I called you earlier," Daniel said with a small sigh. He looked down absently to see the sobs that were close to erupting in Grace's demeanor. "But I'm sure having you here will help perk her up," he said, compassionately.

Charlie swallowed as Daniel helped Grace put her badge on. "Cassandra said she's getting on the next flight out of DC."

Daniel's head snapped up. "I'm not sure that's a good idea given…"

"I know." Charlie interrupted. "But I'd already gotten her involved when I called her for some help with Grace…"

"I was worried," Grace whispered, quietly.

"I'm sure you were," Daniel said, gently. "You had good reason to be." He looked back up at Charlie. "Once Cassandra gets an idea in her head, it's impossible to stop her. I know that. But I also know that she's not stupid. She wouldn't come if she didn't think she had some flexibility with her classes and her professors."

Charlie nodded, gravely.

"I'm sure she'll be all right," Daniel said, standing.

Charlie was silent, knowing that the archaeologist had been vague so that he could comfort him about Cassandra's schooling and Sam's condition at the same time.

"Come on," Daniel said, clearing his throat. "Let's see if we can find Jack and arrange a visit with Sam and Jacob."

* * *

_She opened the door, surprised to find him on her doorstep. "Sir?"_

_"Carter," he said, swallowing. "I know you probably don't want to see me, and I don't blame you, but…I just wanted to apologize."_

_"For what?" She asked, her blue eyes uncharacteristically guarded._

_"For…for what I said the other day. About acting like myself."_

_"I hardly even remember it," she said, crossing her arms as she leaned against the door frame._

_He wanted to call her out and tell her that he could see straight through her lie, but that would only bring them back to the place where they would have to admit their possibly inappropriate feelings for one another. Something he'd almost done when he had said he hadn't acted like himself since he met her._

_That look of hurt had haunted his dreams since he said it. The betrayal she held guarded behind those blue orbs as she tried not to feel violated the power of his implication of some illegal intimacy between a commander and his second-in-command, however untrue or imagined._

_"Can I come in?" He asked, pushing aside his train of thought._

_She swallowed before she let down her defensive posture and opened the door more widely. "Yeah, I guess."_

_He slipped into the house as she closed the door behind him. "Doc Fraiser said I shouldn't even try to apologize without some sort of peace offering, so…" He handed her a plastic grocery sack. "I got Ben and Jerry's."_

_She was softening, he could tell, as he saw some of her hurt dissolve into amusement. "Ben and Jerry's?"_

_He nodded. "There should be some Cherry Garcia in there."_

_"Did Janet tell you it was my favorite?" She asked, eyeing him carefully._

_"Actually, that one was Cassandra."_

_She smiled softly as she led him toward the kitchen. "She would."_

_She put the ice cream in the freezer, retrieving one of the cartons and a couple of spoons and setting them on the counter in front of him._

_"Carter," he said with a small sigh. "I'm not proud of what I had to do to keep you guys in the dark. And…well, I don't know that I could ever apologize enough."_

_"I know." She said, soberly. She pushed the pint of ice cream between them, and offered him a spoon. "But Ben and Jerry's is a good place to start."_

"Daddy!"

The young girl's call startled Jack out of his memory, and he turned toward the sound in time to have his daughter run into his arms.

"Grace," he whispered, hugging her.

"Where's Mommy?" She asked, reverting to her younger days.

"In the infirmary," he said, quietly.

"I want to see her."

Jack nodded. "Let's go talk to Dr. Lam. Maybe she'll let you in, okay?"

Grace quieted, and Jack looked up at his stony-faced firstborn.

"Come on," Charlie said, quietly. "Let's go."

They were all silent as they walked down the corridors of the base, each consumed with worry about Sam's condition.

In a silent procession, Jack, Daniel, Charlie and Grace filed through the infirmary door, causing Carolyn Lam to look over before sighing softly as she walked over to speak with them.

"You're here to see Sam and the baby," she said, knowingly.

Jack nodded, silently.

"I have a nurse in with General Carter at the moment, so you'll need to wait to see her." Carolyn said, soberly. "But I have little Jacob over here." She looked at Jack. "I think he could use a visitor or two."

"Where is he?" Grace asked, looking up at the doctor.

"This way," Carolyn said with a faint smile as she led the group to an area which had been carefully sectioned off from the rest of the infirmary. In a small isolation chamber lay the newest O'Neill, clothed only in a tiny diaper, with tubes and wires connecting him to half a dozen monitors just like his mother who lay only a few doors down.

Charlie swallowed as memories of his own wife and daughter's deaths flashed in his mind. Had they been living on Earth, this is how he would have seen his daughter had she survived the actual birth. Like his father beside him, he grew more and more internally stoic, refusing to show any of the emotion which was tearing his heart in two to any of the others in the party.

Grace walked over to the small bed, and gently put her face to the glass. "Hello there, baby brother," she whispered softly.

The baby turned his head, eyes closed, toward his older sister, and Grace swallowed. "I wish I could hold you," she said, more confidently. "And I will. You just have to get better."

Carolyn swallowed down tears as she thought about the weakness she'd discovered in the premature infant that she'd discovered. Underdeveloped lungs, a weak heart…

Jack just stared at the small cradle as if he was a statue, unable to do anything more. "Let's go," he managed, gruffly, after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence passed.

"General, I think…" Carolyn began.

"I said, let's go," he reiterated as he walked away.

Carolyn sighed softly before she turned to Daniel. "He can't keep walking away," she said, softly. "I need him in here. At this point, morale is the one thing we can give this baby that they couldn't necessarily give him at your run-of-the-mill hospital, but…"

"Jack's fighting you on it," Daniel said in understanding. "I already tried to talk to him, but…"

"I'll do it," Charlie interrupted.

Carolyn and Daniel turned in surprise. "You?"

"I'm the best one," Charlie said, swallowing. "On all fronts."

Daniel inhaled before nodding. "I hate to admit it, but you're right."

Grace turned back to look at him from where she stood beside Jacob's small bed. "Good luck," she said, softly.

"Thanks, little sister," he said, trying to force a small smile to his lips. "You take care of little Jacob, okay?"

She nodded soberly as Charlie turned to leave. She turned back to her baby brother. "When I'm scared, Mommy sings a song. I'm scared, and I bet you are too, so…I thought I should teach it to you." She looked back at the doctor. "Is it okay if I sing? I'll be really, really quiet."

Carolyn nodded, compassionately. "Of course, sweetheart."

Grace swallowed as she sat down in the chair beside the bassinet. "Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are…"

* * *

"Dad!" Charlie quickly caught up with his father as he began to walk toward Sam's room.

"What?" Jack snapped as he turned.

"You're not the only one hurting, you know," he said, taking on the verbal tone that he'd inherited from his father. "Daniel, Grace and Jacob…they're hurting too. And at least Grace and Jacob need you."

"And what could I possibly do?" Jack asked, turning back to his son. "It's not like I can just wave a magic wand and make it so that this never happens."

"And what could you have done to change what did happen, Dad?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't remember the day they made you God, giving you the right to decide when people were born and when they died."

Jack flinched at his son's words. "I could have listened when she was complaining. I could have been more understanding and actually heard how uncomfortable she was. I could have called Daniel and Vala to cancel…then, when she went into labor, we wouldn't have been stuck in an elevator. We would have been in a hospital."

"And who's to say that wouldn't have turned out the same way?" Charlie asked, more compassionately.

Jack was silent.

"Look, I get the irony that the birth of your third child is turning out to be more like the death of your oldest, but regardless of what happens here, you're not in the same place, Dad."

"I'm not?" Jack asked, pointedly.

"No, Dad," Charlie said, shaking his head. "You're not. You have me. You have Grace. You didn't have that the first time around, and it would be nice to see you fight for Sam and Jacob instead of getting paralyzed by the fear of losing them until you finally do."

Jack sighed as Charlie left, leaving him alone outside the entrance to his wife's room.

He looked back toward the isolation room that held so many memories for them – the za'tarc testing, the entity's possession of Sam's body, Daniel's death, and so much more. "What you don't understand," he whispered to his son, now a long distance out of hearing range, "Is that we've beaten the odds so many times that I'm not sure I even have the right to ask anymore."


	58. Extraordinary Measures

"Where is she?"

The familiar female voice jolted Charlie from his thoughts, causing him to turn and look over at Cassandra, dressed in tan slacks, a forest green sweater and a black woolen coat, as she walked toward him.

"Uh, she's in isolation," Charlie said, looking up at her as he pulled his head out of his hands.

"And the baby?"

He pointed to the sectioned off area of the infirmary. "I heard that they were going to move him into the same isolation room as Sam, but nothing so far…"

Cassandra nodded as she sat down beside him, cradling her hands between her knees in a nonverbal communication of her own nervousness. "How are you?"

"Fine."

She eyed him closely. With bloodshot eyes and a waning expression, she could hardly believe his words.

"You haven't slept yet, have you?" She asked, looking at him, closely.

"Couldn't," he said, wiping his face with his hand. "Tried to sleep when you asked me to, but…"

"You couldn't stop thinking about Guin," she supplied, knowingly.

"Actually, at first, I couldn't stop thinking about how ironic it would be if after my so-called "resurrection", something were to happen to Sam and Dad." He said, quietly. "And then, I got here and saw Jacob, and realized that if I'd lived on Earth with Guin when she was pregnant, I would have been in almost exactly the same position as my dad." He sighed. "And that's the reason I haven't been able to sleep since."

She gently rubbed his back, attempting to comfort him. "You need some sleep. You won't be any good to anyone if you can't think clearly. Let me see if I can't get you a sedative and a place to sleep, okay?"

He nodded, absently.

"Excuse me," Dr. Lam called, noticing the stranger in the infirmary.

Cassandra stood. "My name is Cassandra Fraiser," she said, instantly.

"She's with us," Charlie said, raising his head for a moment.

Carolyn studied the young woman, carefully. "Fraiser. We used to have a doctor here named Fraiser. You must be her daughter."

Cassandra nodded. "Yes, I am."

"I'm Carolyn Lam," she said, offering her small hand in greeting. "Chief Medical doctor on base."

Cassandra took it, shaking her hand politely.

"You're here to see General Carter?"

"I'm here to see the whole family." She corrected. "See what I can do to help."

"Well, we were about to move the baby into her isolation room," the doctor said, soberly. "We were hoping that at least being close to his mother would help him until Dr. Montgomery arrives to supervise his treatment."

"Dr. Vincent Montgomery?" Cassandra asked, raising an eyebrow. "The leading medical researcher in neonatal practices and treatments?"

"Yes," Carolyn said as she nodded, somewhat surprised at the young woman's knowledge of the physician. "How did you know about him?"

"He was my professor. He taught a class on neonatal care that I thought might come in handy."

"You attended Johns Hopkins?" Carolyn asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"I'm currently attending Johns Hopkins," she corrected, gently. "I hope to work here like my mother did."

"Well, if that's your goal," Carolyn said, swallowing. "You're right. A class in neonatal care would be useful. You never know what you're going to encounter in a place like this."

"That's what Mom said," she said with a faint smile.

Carolyn managed a sympathetic smile of her own.

"Can I see Sam?" Cassandra asked after a moment.

Carolyn nodded. "Probably not for a few minutes while we get Jacob situated in her room, but when that's finished...yes. I believe we could make that happen."

A nurse walked out of the partitioned area of the infirmary with a hand on Grace's shoulder. The seven-year-old looked worn and exhausted.

Cassandra opened her arms wide as an invitation to the young girl who hurried forward and accepted the hug instantly. She buried her face in Cassandra's neck, quietly crying as she did so.

"Sh," Cassandra murmured as she tried to comfort her. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Charlie walked over, his hands in the pockets of his pants. "Hey, Grace, you know how you were singing earlier?"

She wiped the tears from her eyes as she nodded.

He smiled softly. "It made a lot of people smile."

She managed a thin, sad smile.

The phone on the wall rang, catching Lam's attention. Cassandra watched the doctor answer the phone before turning her attention back to the little girl in her arms. "So, how's baby Jacob doing?" Cassandra asked, hugging Grace as tightly as she could without hurting her.

She swallowed. "He's scared."

"How do you know that?" She asked, gently brushing one of the strands of hair that had fallen from her hastily put together ponytail away from her face.

"I just know," she said, simply. "He doesn't open his eyes, and he just lays there, with all of those wires and tubes...he cries sometimes, and the nurses come in, and try to help him, but...I think he just wants Mom."

Cassandra managed a sad smile. "I'm sure you're right," she said, almost amazed by the young girl's wisdom. "It's pretty scary to come to a new place, isn't it? And then, to not know what's going on in that new place..."

"It's scary," Grace said, sagely.

"Change of plans," Lam said, turning from where she hung up the wall phone. "Dr. Lee and his team have come up with an, uh, experimental therapy that they'd like to try. Once I talk to General O'Neill and get his permission, we'll be good to go."

"What sort of therapy?" Cassandra asked, standing, as Grace walked over to stand by Charlie.

"It seems that the science teams have been working for the last several months on an Asgard medical stasis pod that was found on the planet that Charlie came from," Lam said, looking over at Charlie.

He managed a weak smile.

"And?"

"And even though the power core seems to have depleted since it initially landed on that planet, the team is relatively certain that they can connect the pod to a naquadah generator."

"Sounds risky." Cassandra said, eyeing the doctor closely.

"I won't lie," Carolyn said, swallowing. "I'm not sure how comfortable I am with this set of circumstances."

"But?" Charlie prodded.

"But at the same time," she said, sighing. "I can't do any more for General Carter than I'm already doing."

"So...this pod is good news." Jack said from where he stood, leaning in the doorway.

Carolyn turned back to him, allowing him to see the worry in her eyes. "Maybe." She admitted.

* * *

"We've minimized the risk considerably," Lee said, looking at O'Neill and Lam as his team prepared the device for Sam.

"Risk?" Lam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, according to what we know about Asgard technology, the power core of these devices wasn't supposed to run out for thousands of years." Lee explained. "Unfortunately, the power core to this device depleted sometime between the time it initially landed and when we got it. Now, that wouldn't be a problem if the Asgard were still around, but..."

"But they're gone," Jack supplied, soberly.

He nodded. "We've successfully interfaced a naquadah generator with the power core, but until a few days ago, the simulations kept showing us the same end result – a crater the size of Colorado – because of the instability that's inherent in naquadah's energy."

"So this isn't going to work," Jack said, his face hardening as he lost visible hope from his demeanor.

"Actually, no." Lee said, shaking his head. "We recently got a communication from Area 51. It had several key pieces of research that they've been working on over the last little while."

"And?"

"And one of the things they sent back was actually something that General carter had supervised when she went to head up R&D five or six years ago."

"Which was?"

"Well, she led a team that was researching modifications to the generator which might actually stabilized the naquadah."

"So, it's stable now." Cassandra said, eyeing the scientist.

"Well, actually, we've never found an element that was truly stable when we were using it as a power source. I mean, the very fact that it's capable of expending energy makes it unstable…"

"More stable then," Jack snapped, impatiently.

"Yes, General," Lee said, timidly. "We were able to successfully integrate the modifications into this naquadah reactor. All of the tests point to a successful interface with the medical pod."

"Excellent." Jack said, sitting down again.

"It'll still be a few minutes before we're ready."

"Perfect chance to give you some time with her," Lam said, turning to Jack, Cassandra and Charlie.

"Thank you," Jack said, swallowing.

"I'll get Grace," Cassandra said, turning to leave.

"No," Charlie said, shaking his head as he caught her by the shoulders. "Let me."

She opened her mouth to speak.

"He's right,' Jack said, quietly. "You're almost closer to Sam in a lot of ways than even me. You should stay.'

She managed a thin smile. "All right…"

"I'll be right back," Charlie said, preparing to duck out of the room.

"Let me get her," Carolyn said, stopping him. "You stay."

He swallowed before nodding his head.

"Call Daniel, Vala, Mitchell, Neill, and Teal'c," Jack said, turning back to Lam. "They're as much her family as we are."

Carolyn nodded, slowly. "I'll be right back."

Cassandra rubbed her forehead as if warding off a headache. "I can't believe we're all gathering as if to say our final goodbyes."

"This stuff has worked pretty well in the past," Jack said, numbly. "And I'm sure Lee has done his best, but…"

"There are no guarantees." Charlie finished.

"Exactly." Jack said, soberly.

Cassandra inhaled slowly before walking over to the bed where Sam lay. "Well, Sam, if we're going to do this, I figured I should at least get a chance to go first." She swallowed. "You've been a combination best friend, favorite aunt and mother-figure in the years that I've known you, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for that." She gently brushed the hair back from Sam's face like Sam had done for her so many years ago when she'd first come to this planet. "I can't do it," she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't even think that this isn't going to work." She swallowed. "It has to work. I can't lose my village, my parents, my mother and you too. I just…I can't."

Charlie touched her shoulders and pulled her into a comforting embrace as she finally turned from Sam's bedside. "Sh," he murmured, gently, as he ran his fingers through her hair in an effort to comfort her.

Grace walked into the room beside Dr. Lam. Her wide eyes were sober as she took in the sight of her mother, lying motionless on the bed in front of her. She slowly walked toward her, and climbed up on the bed beside her mother. She wrapped her arms around her, just feeling the slow rhythm of her heartbeat. "I love you, Mom," she whispered as a tear slipped down her cheek and onto her mother's hospital scrubs. "Don't go. Please?"

A nurse gently pulled the seven-year-old from Sam's body as Jack swallowed. At the door, stood the members of SG-1, past and present. "Come on, guys," Jack said, a gruff voice covering his emotion. "Wish her luck before she goes into that thing, okay?"

"Samantha," Vala began. "I'll never forgive you if you don't come out of that thing, and you know I'll do it, so…"

Daniel hushed his girlfriend as Mitchell coughed. "Uh, I'll say this for you…macaroons have never been the same for me since you baked a batch for me after that whole…replicator/Ori mess. Not that I want you to make any more after you get better, I mean, please…spend time with your baby and family, but…you know, just letting you know that I recognized you tried to listen to me when I told you about my grandma's macaroons."

"There's no one that I've ever met who's been quite like you, Carter," Neill said, swallowing. "And I think I…we…Jack and I ordered you a long time ago to "not die", so…don't stop following orders now just because you outrank me."

"You are a formidable warrior, General Carter," Teal'c said, soberly. "You must not relinquish the battle that is being fought within you."

"Yeah, Sam, who'll be able to keep up with me if you're not here, huh?" Daniel asked, trying to lighten the mood. "I mean, even the other archaeologists look at me like I'm crazy for talking so fast, but you…you were usually on the same page…"

"Well, it's not like she's dying," Jack interrupted. "This isn't a time for eulogies…"

Everyone turned sad eyes to Jack, and he coughed uncomfortably. "Look, I'd like some time alone with my wife, okay?"

They nodded, and Daniel led all through the blast doors so that Jack could have some privacy. He watched them all leave before he turned to his wife again. "Well, Carter, if you didn't know, you're loved. By a lot of good people here." He swallowed. "So, don't disappoint them." He smiled softly as he gently touched her cheek. "I'll see you when you wake up, okay?"

He looked up at Lee's team. "We're ready." He said, soberly.


	59. Confusion

Carolyn Lam bit her fingernail, nervously, as she watched over Sam's placement in the Asgard medical pod.

"What is it?" Mitchell asked, looking over at her.

She sighed. "We have to remove life support in order to get her in there, and even though I know that her living will says "no extraordinary means", I…" She swallowed. "I can't help wonder if we're really doing the right thing."

"Sounds like this is pretty much the last option," Mitchell said, quietly.

"Yep." She admitted, trying to look braver than she really was.

"Look, if I know Sam at all, I think she'd rather help prove or disprove the effectiveness of some...jerry-rigged alien device that could actually save hundreds of human lives than lay useless in a hospital bed."

Carolyn nodded, softly. "You're right, of course." She turned her eyes to Jack O'Neill who stood, silently, in the corner of the room. "But you don't have to look into their eyes and tell them whether or not she makes it."

"No," Mitchell said, shaking his head, matter-of-factly, before he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "But it's not like you're alone."

She raised an eyebrow as she looked over at him.

He shrugged. "I mean, this is the SGC. We all share the burden as much as we can."

"Thanks," she said, managing a grateful smile as Dr. Lee motioned her over. "I guess it's showtime."

"Okay," Lee said, turning to one of the other scientists as he finished interfacing the generator to the stasis pod which now held the comatose general within. "Go ahead."

The scientist turned the naquadah generator on as Lee turned back to the group that had gathered to support Sam's recovery. "You might want to stand back."

"If that thing blows, won't matter whether we're five inches or five miles away from her," Jack said without emotion.

"Well, that's true, but…still…" Lee said, motioning for the crowd's movement.

They all stepped back, and Lee turned back to the computer he had monitoring the power that was being fed into the device. "It's working," he said, excitedly. "It's performing much better than the simulations had anticipated!"

Cassandra looked at Charlie before they turned in unison toward his father. Jack's face was stony, as if there was nothing that could change his apathetic heart.

An electrical pop caught the room by surprise as an electrical flash lashed out from the spot where the reactor and pod were connected toward the scientists who were monitoring the progress.

"Turn that thing off," Lam heard herself ordering. "Get her out of there!"

Lee reached for the power cord, instantly getting jolted to the wall with the force of the electrical current.

"Shut it off!" Jack ordered, instantly.

One of the scientists began typing furiously on a keyboard as more electrical fizzles and pops came from the pod.

Several other flashes leapt out as if attacking the scientists who stood around the inanimate object.

"Get out!" Lam ordered, shoving the healthy observers out of the room as she tried to make it over to look at the injuries which had already been sustained.

Only a few moments passed before the shorting generator simply quit. Jack, who'd covered his head instinctively, turned back as the pod's shield opened to reveal his wife's face. Hesitantly, he took a few steps toward his wife's side. "Sam?" He whispered, worriedly.

Her eyes opened instantly.

"God, you scared me," he said with a sigh of relief. "How are you feeling?"

She turned her head to him as her brow furrowed.

"What? What's wrong?" Jack asked, clutching his shirt as he looked down. "I know I don't look that good, but I'll be honest…you've put me through a hell of a couple of days."

She looked over at the unconscious Lee and then over at where a nurse was taking over the treatment of a scientist's badly burned hand. She turned back to Jack. "Where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary," he explained as he reached a hand out to help her out of the pod. "Jacob's birth went badly, and you ended up in a coma. You're okay now. You're all right."

Lam walked over, studying her patient as she did so. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Sam said, eying the doctor, warily.

"Does anything hurt?" Lam asked, motioning for another nurse to join her.

"No, I said I'm fine!" Sam said, pulling her arm away from the doctor's grasp.

"Sam, honey…" Jack murmured, soothingly, as he grasped one of her hands in his.

"Who the hell are you?" She demanded, ripping her hand from his in a panic.

Jack was silent with his shock for a moment. "Sam, it's me. Jack...your h…"

"General," Carolyn said, silencing him. She turned to Sam. "Do you know who you are?"

"Of course I know who I am," she said, getting out of the Asgard pod.

Lam looked at her, expectantly.

"Captain Samantha Carter. United States Air Force." She said, soberly.

"Captain?" Lam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Captain." She said, defensively. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"Sam, you don't recognize us at all?" Daniel asked, taking a few hesitant steps toward her.

"Look, I don't know what game you're playing, but you've kidnapped the daughter of a very powerful Air Force general, and he's not going to be too thrilled when he realizes that I'm missing." She said as her eyes covered the room, defensively, in an effort to detect any threats.

Jack closed his eyes with a sigh before he slipped out of the room. Lam watched him go before she turned back to Sam. "Uh, C…Captain Carter," she said, swallowing. "I need to do a full examination. You've been in a coma for two days, and…well, to be honest, there may be some brain damage."

"Don't touch me," Carter said, backing into a corner as the nurses came to help Lam.

"I'm just going to give you a light sedative while we run our tests, and then, we'll talk, okay?" Lam murmured, soothingly, in an effort to keep the situation from exploding.

"Don't give me that!" Carter yelled while several nurses attempted to restrain her as the doctor administered a small syringe of the promised sedative.

Cassandra buried her face in Charlie's chest as she covered her face with her hands.

"Don't…giv…me tha…" Carter slurred as she finally slumped to the ground.

Daniel swallowed his feelings as he turned to Lam. "What the hell was that?"

"I'm not sure," Lam said, honestly. "But I think it had something to do with the short circuit we experienced earlier."

Daniel closed his eyes and sighed. "Of course, it does."

Cassandra wiped at her eyes as she turned back around. "We've got to figure out what happened to her, and how to fix it," she said, trying to hide the redness of her eyes.

"Dr. Lee?" One of the nurses urged, trying to wake the scientist. "Can you hear me?"

"What happened?" He asked, groggily.

"She seems to have been healed of all her physical symptoms," Charlie said with a biting tone to his voice. "But she thinks she's Captain Carter, and she doesn't even recognize her husband."

Bill paled. "That shouldn't have happened…I mean, in all of the simulations, it never…"

Cassandra turned to him with tears streaming down her cheeks. "You still stand behind your precious simulations?" She demanded before storming out of the room.

Charlie exchanged a worried look with Daniel before he slipped out of the room to follow Cassandra. Daniel turned back to Bill, who managed a sheepish smile. "Oops."

* * *

"Jack," Cassandra greeted, now more composed after the events in the isolation room.

He looked up at her from where he stood, staring at his newborn son.

"He's beautiful," she said, stepping beside him.

"He's sick." Jack said, swallowing.

"They've called one of my professors," she comforted. "He's the top neonatal physician in the country. In fact, I think he's supposed to be here any minute."

"Underdeveloped lungs and an inexplicably weak heart," Jack said, looking back at his son. "And they're telling me that standing here is going to do something to fix it."

Cassandra looked over at him and then back at the baby. "Not exactly." She said, quietly.

He looked over at her in confusion.

"Why were you sitting by Sam's bedside?" Cassandra asked, curiously.

"Because I love her." He said, simply.

"It's the same thing here." She said, simply.

Jack swallowed. "Do you think I didn't come because I blame him for what happened to Sam?"

Cassandra turned to him and shook her head. "Never."

He turned back, silently.

"You were doing the best you could, Jack," she said, honestly. "You usually only have to worry about one person. This time, you had to worry about two…"

"I've had to split my focus between two sick or injured teammates before," he said, quietly.

"Yeah, and if my memory serves me correctly, you usually spent the bulk of your time with the sickest one." She said, earnestly. "At least, that's what my mom said."

"She said that?" Jack asked, looking over at her, curiously.

"On more than one occasion," she said, nodding.

"What am I going to do with two kids who still need a mother when Sam's alive and well, but doesn't know who she is?" Jack asked after a moment of silence had lapsed.

"Jack, I have full confidence that you're not going to let Sam stay this way if there's anything you can do to help it."

"I haven't seen her so scared in years," he said, softly. "I mean, I know she was terrified after my heart attack, but…this was almost paranoid."

Cassandra just watched him as she listened to his words.

"Truthfully, I don't think I've seen her look quite like that since we were going on missions together."

"She'll come back, Jack," Cassandra assured with a comforting smile.

He managed a sad smile. "Thanks, Cass."

"I didn't just come down to make you feel better," she said, somewhat apologetically. "Dr. Lam has the results of Sam's examination. Colonel Mitchell wanted to make sure you were invited to the briefing."

He nodded before looking around him in confusion.

"Jack?"

"Where's Grace?" He asked, looking over at her.

"Oh, Vala took her to one of the VIP rooms to play some games."

"Ah." Jack said, nodding.

"She wanted to stay here in the infirmary, but with Sam's outburst, I figured it would be best for her to…"

"You're right," Jack assured, putting a hand on her arm. "It's okay. I trust you. I just…wanted to know where she was."

Cassandra nodded.

"What day is it?" Jack asked as they walked out of the infirmary.

Cassandra looked at her watch, somewhat unsure of the answer herself. "Uh…eleven-thirty am Tuesday morning."

"I need to call Grace out of school."

"I already asked her about that." Cassandra said, shaking her head. "She swears that it's Spring Break."

"It might very well be," Jack said with a small sigh. "But Sam kept track of that stuff better than me."

Cassandra sighed softly. Hopefully, she would be again.

* * *

"There's nothing wrong with her," Lam said as she looked around the briefing room table.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked, eyebrows shooting up.

"There is nothing physically wrong with her that would explain this memory lapse." Dr. Lam said, soberly. "Which…in my opinion, could be a good thing."

"How is that a good thing?" Daniel asked, incredulously.

"Her EEG came back clean." Carolyn said, pushing pictures of Sam's tests to the archaeologist. "If it hadn't, we would have to make the assumption that the damage was permanent and irreversible. Even with another Asgard medical pod."

"So…what?"

"Well, it's possible that this is just part of the recovery. For anyone else, we would expect memory loss and loss of motor function." Carolyn explained. "As you can imagine, these problems could result in paranoia and fear as we witnessed when she woke up."

"Or…"

Carolyn looked at the retired general with a small sigh. "Or…this could be something a little more similar to what would happen to your computer if it crashed in the middle of a reboot."

"Permanent loss of memory?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Honestly, I don't know whether it was the short circuiting of the medical pod itself or just par for the course of her recovery."

"Is there some way to know one way or the other?" Charlie asked, speaking up for the first time in the briefing.

Carolyn bit the inside of her cheek as she shook her head. "Only time will tell. But it probably wouldn't hurt to try to take her to familiar places, reminisce with her…"

"Not going to work," Jack spoke up instantly.

"What do you mean?" Mitchell asked, turning to the general.

"If she thinks that she's Captain Carter…from before her years at the SGC, she's going to fight us with an innate suspicion that we've taken her prisoner."

"What? Why?" Daniel asked, confused.

Jack swallowed. "When she was serving in the Gulf, she was captured by a rogue group of militants."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"She got home from that ordeal about three months before she began work on the Stargate Project." He said, quietly. "She doesn't like to admit it, but she believed that she was initially transferred to the Pentagon to keep her busy while she worked through the psychological ramifications with an Air Force shrink."

"But we're not militants," Mitchell said, confused. "I mean, don't you think she'll be able to tell the difference?"

Jack closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "She was tortured by an American who had joined forces with the militants."

"Oh, God," Daniel breathed.

"I'll talk to her," Jack said, inhaling. "She's my wife, even if she doesn't know it."

"General…"

"I won't tell her." He said, turning to Carolyn. "That would just aggravate an already explosive situation."

"Jack, if you need any help," Daniel said, looking over. "Or…if you can't…"

"Thanks, Danny." Jack said, standing. "But this is my fight."

Daniel nodded in understanding.

"Call Landry," Jack said, turning to Mitchell. "He probably should know that the commander of the SGC doesn't know anything about the project she's supposed to be commanding."

"Already done, sir." Mitchell said, seriously.

Jack nodded before turning to the rest of the table. "Well, folks, I guess all that needs to be said now is…"

"Good luck," Cassandra offered.

He managed a small smile. "Thanks, Cass."

* * *

Jack inhaled as he stood outside the door to Sam's isolation quarters. Maybe this would be harder than he'd led everyone to believe in the briefing room, he thought to himself.

_"Whoa, what happened to you?"_

_"Jack."_

_"Jack?"_

_"It's me. It's Sam."_

_"Uh…yeah…"_

_"I never expected this variation. You're alive."_

He reached for the door handle before another flashback popped into his head.

_"Sir, this has to be a mistake."_

_"Tell me about it."_

_"Can you talk to General Hammond about getting me rested, I mean, I'm…"_

_"Us."_

_"What?"_

_"Us retested. Apparently, I'm one of those zarc-things too. I'm across the hall."_

_"That can't be."_

_"I know."_

_"Although, we were both unconscious at the same time."_

_"Apparently."_

_"Sir, are you worried that it's at least possible?"_

_"A little."_

Jack rubbed his forehead. Captain Carter was in that room. Not Major Carter, Colonel Carter, General Carter, Samantha or any of the other evolutions of his wife. He was dealing with the headstrong personality of the almost mistrusting Air Force captain he'd met fifteen years ago.

He inhaled before nodding to the SFs guarding the door. One of them opened the door for him, and he stepped through.

"I'm not going to talk," Carter said, steadfastly.

"I don't have any questions," Jack said, shrugging. "So, I guess we're a good pair."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "No questions?"

He shook his head as he sat beside her bed. "I figure you're pretty freaked out right now. So…no questions."

She eyed him, suspiciously.

"No gimmick, I swear." He said, putting his hands up in surrender.

"Why?" She asked, almost in wonder.

"Because at the moment, I have more information than you do. So, I'm going to be the one spilling my guts, okay?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Your hair…you didn't have that hair when you were at the Pentagon, did you?"

She touched her long locks almost defensively. "What do you mean by that?"

"That's what you think you're working on, right? A top-secret project at the Pentagon where you're studying a ring that was found in the sands of Giza in 1928."

"I don't know what you're…"

"Carter, we've been going through that ring for the past fifteen years." He interrupted. "And mostly because you helped Dr. Catherine Langford, the woman you were working with at the Pentagon, to jerry-rig a computer system to control the device even though you weren't exactly sure what you were working with at the time."

"Fifteen years?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, skeptically.

"In 1994, with the help of an archaeologist named Dr. Daniel Jackson, I led a team through what he called the Stargate. We ended up on an alien planet with an alien who had been impersonating the Egyptian god, Ra, for four thousand years."

"An alien?" She asked with a dubious face that looked identical to the one he'd seen on her father's face so many times.

"A snake-like parasite that requires a host to survive," he said, nodding. "They're called goa'uld, and we killed Ra."

"So, we fight aliens," Sam said, clearly not believing his story.

He nodded. "But you didn't join the team until three years later when the program was reopened on a more permanent basis."

"Oh…right…" She said, laughing at the absurdity of his words.

"You had a chip on your shoulder when you walked into the briefing room for the first time." Jack remembered. "I had just made the assumption that Sam was short for Samuel, and you walked in to set me straight."

_"Where's Captain Carter?"_

_"Just arriving, sir."_

_"Carter?"_

_"I'm assigning Sam Carter to this mission."_

_"I'd prefer to put together my own team, sir."_

_"Not on this mission, sorry." Hammond said, soberly. "Carter's our expert on the Stargate."_

_"Where's he transferring from?"_

_"SHE is transferring from the Pentagon," a voice answered from the doorway._

_He looked up in surprise as she walked to the empty seat across from him. "I take it you're Colonel O'Neill." She offered a snappy salute. "Captain Samantha Carter reporting, sir."_

_He returned the salute less precisely as he studied the blond in her immaculate dress blues. There was something about her…he wasn't sure what it was or if it was a good or a bad thing…but there was definitely some chemistry there._

Sam was rubbing her temples with her eyes closed as a look of pure agony appeared on her face.

"Sam?"

"Hurts…" She managed.

"What hurts?"

"Head…everything…" She groaned.

"Okay, I'm going to get Dr. Lam," he said, standing as he knocked on the door.

Before he knew it, he felt the cold metal hit his forehead as she grabbed the hair at the back of his head and slammed his head against the door that the SFs opened.

Damn, he thought to himself as he yielded to the darkness. She felt alone and confused in a top-secret base that handled alien incursions on a regular basis. This was bad.


	60. Remembering

Armed with the pistol she'd taken from one of the SFs, Sam crept down the cement corridors of the facility she'd been held inside. The sound of footsteps coming toward her induced her to quickly duck into the door beside her. She pulled it closed for a moment, listening at the door as they passed.

A blinding headache like the one she'd experienced in her room caught her by surprise and she groaned before clutching her head as the room swam around her. She fell to her knees, grabbing the metal sink that was nearest her as she attempted to keep from falling and hitting her head.

_"Sure looks like the SGC," she murmured, walking down corridors that looked like the ones she was currently hiding from. They got into the elevator and emerged into a golden corridor that seemed like it was Egyptian themed. "Wow, this looks just like…"_

_"Don't think about it," the gray-haired man dressed in matching white clothes as her said, turning to her. "You'll set that thing off."_

_"Ow!" She cried, clutching her temple._

_He grabbed her, clasping a hand over her mouth, as he pulled her behind a column._

_Flashes of a memory. She was travelling through a corridor just like the one she'd been pulled from. She had a gun in one hand. Clearly, she was on a covert mission of some kind, but…it was gone before she could sort it out._

_"Can we take these things out?" She asked, turning to him._

_"I don't know. You tell me. Mine's in pretty deep."_

_"Yeah, you're right. Pulling them out might cause some pretty nasty collateral damage."_

_"No, we don't want that."_

The pain abated, and she pulled herself up over the sink. She looked into the mirror, for a moment, absolutely exhausted by her pain. "Who am I? "She murmured as she stared at the image of herself in the mirror. With a few more lines and wrinkles than she'd had at the Pentagon. Her hair was longer, that much she'd been able to tell early. Her face was rounder as if she'd recently put on a great deal of weight. Her body moved differently than it had with her last memory.

_"Jacob's birth went badly," he soothed. "And you ended up in a coma. You're all right now."_

She put her hands on her stomach as if trying to remember the feeling of having another life within her.

"Why can't I remember?" She whispered, looking back at the mirror. She touched her face with her fingers as a sad and worried look spread to her eyes.

* * *

"Jack," Daniel cried, gently shaking him. "Jack, wake up."

The retired general gasped as he finally returned to consciousness. "Gah," he said, putting a hand to his head instantly. "She knocked me out!"

"Who? Sam?"

"Yes, Sam." Jack said, looking at the archaeologist incredulously. "Who else do you think would have done this?"

"I just meant…"

"Paranoid, Daniel," Jack muttered, cradling his head as he closed his eyes. "Do you know what the word means?"

"Yes, but…"

"She's not herself, Daniel. She's even less secure and confident than she was you and I both met her," Jack groaned in agony. "And I guess she wasn't up to believing what I was telling her."

"Which was?"

"What we do around here. What she was working on when she was working at the Pentagon."

"How do you know that she was working at the Pentagon? I mean, who's to say that her memory didn't stay stuck farther back in time than that?"

"Daniel, she wasn't promoted to Captain until just before she was captured." Jack said with a small sigh. He felt darkness closing in on him again. "Daniel, you wouldn't happen to have brought a medical team with you?"

"Well, I called one. I mean, I saw the SFs…."

"Good," Jack interrupted, clutching the archaeologist's uniform sleeve. "Because I think I'm going to need one."

* * *

_"Colonel," she said as he stepped out of the locker room._

_"Carter," he said, eyeing her closely._

_"What Kawalsky said in the briefing room…" She began, slowly. "About her being his best friend's wife…"_

_Jack swallowed. "Uh…yeah…"_

_"I guess that explains a lot," she said, quietly._

_"Does it?"_

_"Why she's…weird around us. Jealous of me, but….uncomfortable with you…"_

_"Is that the technical term? Weird…" He asked, facetiously._

_"This isn't a joke, sir," she murmured, looking around as if to see who was listening to their conversation._

_"I know, Carter." He said, soberly. "But this isn't us. This was them."_

_"Yes, sir." She said, nodding._

_"Are we done here, Major?"_

_She nodded again. "Yes, sir."_

_When she didn't move, he looked at her. "Carter?"_

_"Are you sure you should be going on this mission?" She asked, worriedly. "I mean, you could…or she could…"_

_"I'll be fine, Carter." He said, soberly. "So will she."_

_"Of course, sir." She said, nodding. She swallowed, looking up at him again for a moment. "Just…watch your six, sir."_

Sam swallowed as she tried to recover from the sudden and overwhelming pain, clutching at the wall as she tried to regain her balance.

"Sam."

She turned toward the sound of the voice to find the dark-haired man who had been standing in the room where she'd been drugged.

"Get away from me," she warned, pointing the gun at him.

"Sam, it's me. Daniel." He said, putting his hands up in an effort to defend himself. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She swallowed as she watched him closely.

"Jack's alive. He's going to be okay," he said, slowly. "He's got a concussion, but he's going to be okay."

_She slowly walked into the infirmary. "Major Carter," her father's friend, General George Hammond greeted soberly, walking out as she walked in._

_"General Hammond," she said, managing a weak smile for the two-star._

_"You came to see him?" He asked, knowingly._

_She nodded. "I know he just got out of surgery, and he probably won't even know that I was there, but…"_

_"He'll know you came," Hammond assured._

_She nodded as tears welled up in her eyes._

_"It's hard," he admitted, looking around the infirmary as his eyes grew sad. "To come here after what happened, isn't it?"_

_She nodded again. "Yes, sir."_

_Hammond turned to leave before he turned back to her. "Colonel O'Neill's going to be all right, Major."_

_Her lips parted as she let her eyes drop to the floor._

_"If the blast had hit him any other way…"_

_"Yes, sir." She said, nodding._

"Why should I care?" She asked, heart beating in her chest, as she tried to hide the pain she'd felt with the last flashback.

"I think you're already starting to know why," Daniel said, studying her closely.

She waved her gun toward him, menacingly.

Daniel's arms which had begun to come down to his sides instantly reappeared in the air. "Sam, your left hand has a ring on it, doesn't it?"

She let her eyes glance down at the gold band that held three square diamonds on it.

"It doesn't look like Jonas's ring, does it?"

_"My children. Today is a great day!" Jonas announced, powerfully. "The sun stood still in the heavens, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. I have the power to help, and to cast down. But fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. Today, we will bury the doorway that brings forth demons who threaten to undo us. But first I will send those evil undoers who have already invaded our world, back to the hell from whence they came."_

_He pointed at the man, Jack, and another man that she couldn't recognize. It was only a few moments before Jonas began dialing something in a large gray device. "Fear not, for I the Lord your God, control the gateway to the underworld."_

_The device that lay horizontal to the ground flooded with a watery surface before it jetted upward. (The people around her jumped as it opened, but she hardly noticed. "You said you wouldn't kill them!" She cried, looking at Jonas._

"I'm not. I'm sending them back to Earth."

"Without sending the signal to open the iris they'll die." She reminded him.

"Please Sam" he said, with an eerie smile. "I'm having a moment here."

She looked up at him as she tried to shake off the instant headache. "How did you know about that?"

"We're friends, Sam." He assured.

"No," she said, pointing the gun at him with more fervor. "Friends don't let other people drug them!"

"Sam, you were hysterical in there," Daniel murmured. "And Dr. Lam needed to run her tests."

"No," she said, angrily. "I didn't need to be drugged!"

"I understand how scared you must be," he said, softly. "And sedating you right before we could explain what was going on was probably a bad idea…"

"Ya think?" She asked, hurt.

"See, you sound like him." Daniel said, gently. "Even though you don't remember him, you sound like Jack."

"What happened to me?" She asked with tears slipping down her cheeks as the gun wavered in her hand. "How much time has passed? What exactly can I not remember?"

"Put down the gun, and I'll tell you," Daniel promised.

"What year is it?" She demanded, thrusting the gun in his face.

"2013." He said, calmly.

She paled visibly in despair. "Twenty years…I lost twenty years…"

"You're starting to remember," he said, reaching for the gun which had lowered in her shock. "You didn't lose those years. You just misplaced them for a little while. We'll help you remember."

"No," she said, gathering her composure again. She brought the gun against the side of his head, forcing him to the ground in unconsciousness as she made her escape.

As she ran past the open blast door, one of the MALPs sent its camera around the corner of the door in an effort to watch her movements.

A blinking light seemed to pause some function, but when she ran out of the line of sight, the light stopped blinking, and the MALP returned to the room from whence it came.

RESUME CONSTRUCTION.

The words on the small computer screen seemed to begin a flurry of activity as the robotic arms of the MALP began to work in tandem on the organized groupings of metal and computer components which it had gathered. First, an arm, then, a leg…

The camera turned back around so that it could look out the open door. Almost instantly, a wireless transmission caused the blast door to close again.

Hearing the sound of the blast door, Sam turned back and looked down the corridor, suspiciously. Seeing nothing, she continued on her way.

* * *

"I want everyone on the base looking for General Carter," Mitchell said, seriously.

"So do I," Landry said as he stepped into the briefing room.

"Sir?" The Colonel said, turning to face the General.

"When I got your message, I figured I should come by and see what I could do to help."

"And what is it that you would propose we do?" Teal'c asked, turning an interested eye to the former SGC commander.

"Find her," he said, soberly. "And remove her from command if necessary."

"Exactly," Mitchell said, nodding, before he'd digested the second half of the plan. "Wait, what?"

"She doesn't remember who she is," Landry said, soberly. "If she makes an order, even if it's unintentional, she could throw the whole Mountain into chaos."

"Samantha wouldn't do that," Vala assured.

"Not even accidentally," Daniel agreed with an ice pack on his head.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Jackson, but it seems that she's already knocked out two of the original members of SG-1. The people that she would have the greatest likelihood of remembering." Landry said, soberly.

"Actually, her mind seems to be stuck after 1993. We didn't meet her until '97." Daniel murmured.

"So, she doesn't remember anything about the Stargate Program." Landry said in acknowledgement. "But that still doesn't make a case for leaving her in command."

"So, tell everyone not to obey her orders!" Daniel said, looking at the General. "She's remembering. I can tell."

"Dr. Jackson, I'm sorry," Landry said, soberly. "But even I have orders."

SG-1 turned to him in surprise.

"Orders, sir?" Mitchell asked, curiously.

"It's perfect," Neill said, thoughtfully.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow as he turned to the cloned version of Sam's husband.

"I mean, for the IOA and the Pentagon, of course." Neill corrected.

"Neill?" Mitchell asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If she doesn't remember anything about the program, she can't be a risk," Jack said from the doorway.

Everyone turned to him. "General O'Neill, shouldn't you be in the infirmary?" Mitchell asked, concerned.

"It's a concussion, Mitchell," O'Neill said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll live."

"Jack, he has a point." Daniel said, looking at his friend, soberly. "Your feelings might be…"

"Who in this room doesn't have feelings that would be clouded by who Sam is?" Jack interrupted, angrily. "I'm doing this."

"What do you mean about Samantha being a risk?" Vala asked, ignoring the conflict.

"The Pentagon can remove her from command without paying her pension," Neill said, soberly. "It'll be on the basis of "mental instability". She'll get standard veteran's benefits and a few other special considerations, but…they're not going to assume full responsibility."

"Because it wasn't "in the line of duty"," Daniel said with sudden clarity.

"And the IOA won't have to worry about her retaliating because, let's face it," Jack began.

"She doesn't even know they exist or know anything about the reason why the IOA was formed in the first place," Neill finished.

"Exactly." Jack said, soberly.

"We're not just going to let them do this to her, are we?" Daniel asked, looking at Jack.

"Of course not."

"We have no choice."

Jack and Hank looked at each other as they finished their sentences together.

"Jack, I want to help her as much as you do, but to be frank, she's not winning much sympathy while she systematically takes out everyone in the base. Especially not from the IOA." Hank said, soberly. "Which is why I'm assuming command as of right now. But if you find her, and if her memory comes back, I'll do what I can to make sure she gets her job back or the benefits that she deserves."

"Hank, there are three people you need to catch her," Jack said, his face stony. "Daniel, Teal'c, and me. And you don't have jurisdiction over any of us. So, unless you're going to lock us up and say goodbye to any chance you have of catching her before she goes up to the surface and tells God knows who about whatever she remembers, you have a choice."

"Good luck," Landry said, looking at the general.

Jack turned to the other members of the original SG-1. "You in?"

They nodded.

"Come on," Jack said, soberly. "I can think of a handful of places "Captain Carter" might be headed toward without even realizing it."

They nodded as they stood and joined him.

"Colonel Mitchell," Landry said as they walked out of the room. "I want all available personnel looking for Carter."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"Excuse me," a voice called from behind her. "Ma'am?"

She turned, swallowing.

"Oh, I'm sorry, General Carter," the SF said, recognizing her on sight.

Sam's brow furrowed as she looked at the SF. "Uh, don't…worry about it…"

"Are you looking for something? Someone?"

Sam noticed the pass sticking out of the man's uniform pocket. "Yes, I seem to have forgotten my way back to the infirmary," she said, managing an amused smile. "This place…it's like a maze."

The young man chuckled. "Don't I know it." He turned back toward the direction from which he'd come. "Go down this hallway. You'll run into the elevator. Take it until you're…"

Sam hit him with the pistol she'd retrieved earlier, and he collapsed.

_"Oh, yeah, my career is over."_

She grimaced as she tried to shut the flashback of hitting General Hammond with a gun from her mind. "I don't have time for this," she groaned to herself as she reached into the man's pocket and retrieved the access card. She quickly slid it through the access panel to her right, and entered a modest science lab.

It seemed almost deserted. As if someone had preserved the lab in an effort to keep a memory alive.

Her brow furrowed. Who would have done such a thing? Why would they have done so?

"This used to be your lab."

The voice startled Sam, and she swung around pointing the gun at the source of the sound. The gray-haired man she'd hit earlier stepped out of the shadows. "Jack."

He nodded. "Hi, Sam."

She swallowed as the lab door closed. She whirled around.

"It's okay. It's on a timer." Jack soothed, taking a few steps toward her.

"Timer?" She asked, looking at him somewhat suspiciously.

He nodded. "We need to talk."

"Nothing good ever comes after those words."

"Give me the gun." He said, reaching a hand toward her.

He was so close to her that almost couldn't see his whole face. Only part of it.

_She was hard at work, looking at a building block of some sophisticated, yet rusted, machine. Something caught her eye, and she looked over to find her commanding officer making faces in the magnifier. She smiled to herself._

_"Whatcha doin'?" He asked, nonchalantly._

_"They salvaged a couple of replicator pieces from the ocean. I thought I'd have a look."_

_He stood up with an instantly concerned look on his face. "Is that…wise?"_

_"Well, there's no discernable energy being emitted. I think it's pretty safe to say they're dead." She explained. "Besides, it's only just a couple of little blocks."_

_He shrugged, casually. "Well, I'm off."_

_"Still going fishing?" She asked, almost wondering if she should ask him to stay._

_"Yep." He said with a small smile. He looked at her. "Still staying here?"_

_She sighed. "Yeah. I think I've had enough relaxation for a while, sir."_

"Sam?" Jack asked, approaching her. "Are you okay?"

"We'd been on that planet for almost two weeks…" she murmured, almost deliriously. "And that whole time, you were trying to get me to go fishing."

Jack's brow furrowed in confusion. "Sam?"

"The…the big bald guy." She said, grimacing. "He went on some sort of…spiritual retreat when it was clear that we couldn't dial home right away."

Jack was quiet, and let her tell the memory at her own pace.

"When he came back, you told him that he had something on his chin, and you tried to brush it away, but he quickly disabled you, and we realized that he'd grown the strip of hair on his chin on purpose as part of his retreat."

"Then, when we got home, I told Danny not to touch it."

"I kept dialing Earth's address. Once every two or three hours." She said, ignoring his comment. "I was afraid of what would happen if we were alone together for too long." She looked up at him, tearing up as she managed a small smile. "I guess I was in love with you even then." She blinked away her tears before she swallowed. "And somehow, even though I don't remember much about the last twenty years…" She inhaled as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I still love you. More than I remember loving anyone else." She looked down at the floor, closing her eyes in embarrassment. "I don't even know your last name, and…

"It's O'Neill." He said with a small smile. "With two L's. And…it's your last name too."

She looked down at her left hand for a moment before she looked up at him. "Yeah. That's what Daniel…told me…just before I hit him in the hallway." She exhaled slowly. "So, where do we go from here? We've been married, but suddenly, I don't know anything about you." She looked at the gun in her right hand. "Of course, you could just be drugging me and implanting these suggestions into my mind."

"Do you feel drugged?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not anymore." She admitted, slowly.

He stepped toward her and gently took the gun from her hand.

"Now, I'm unarmed," she said, watching his movements closely as he put the gun on the table. "Are you going to give up the façade?"

"What façade?" He asked, turning back to her. "You're my wife, Sam. This isn't a hallucination. I'm not fishing for information…I just want to help you find out who you are again."

She studied him, the beginnings of belief finding their way into her eyes. "You said this used to be my lab…"

"Until you commanded the _George Hammond_, which was…well, it was just after we got married which was in January of '09." He looked up and saw her eyes on him. He shrugged. "Yeah. This was your lab."

"No one's been in it since?" She asked, touching the smooth surface of the workbench.

"Not for any length of time," he said, shaking his head.

"Why?" She asked, looking over at him. "I mean, it's just a room. And if they do fight aliens in this place like you said they do, I'm sure they could use the lab."

"Sam, this was your lab for ten years. Minus a misguided Research and Development phase…at the beginning of the ninth year…"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Don't get me wrong, I love misguided. Especially since that's really what opened up our relationship options, but…there's not a scientist in this Mountain who doesn't know who you are, and what your contributions to the Program have been."

"My contributions to the Program?" She asked, quietly.

He nodded. "Wormhole physics. Alien technology. Backwards engineering of countless alien devices…" He managed a small, proud smile. "If it hadn't been for you, Sam, this program wouldn't have come this far."

"Someone called me General Carter," she said, swallowing.

"Yes. I figured someone would eventually." He said, inhaling. "You're a Brigadier General. Up until a few minutes ago, you commanded this facility."

"And now, I don't because I don't even know what exactly goes on in it." She said, understandingly.

"Exactly." He said, nodding.

"So, who's commanding it then?" She asked, staring at the countertop. "You?"

"No. I'm retired."

_They tumbled through the event horizon, falling onto the ramp as Hammond ran up to them._

_"Just remember, I retired." Jack said, clutching his head. "You wanted me back."_

_They all managed to get to their feet, and Hammond looked at them, concerned. "Colonel, are you okay?"_

_"Think so," Daniel piped up._

_"Will be," she added._

_"I am very well, General Hammond," the bald man with the gold emblem on his forehead said, looking at the commander._

_"What happened?"_

_"The damn armbands fell off, that's what happened!" Jack announced, looking at the blonde woman wearing a figure-hugging leather outfit._

_"I am sorry."_

_"Were you successful in destroying the ship?"_

_"Indeed we were, General Hammond."_

_"Good. Report to the infirmary."_

"Sam," Jack said, his hands on her arms, gently supporting her as she recovered from the pain. "What happened?"

"Memory," she groaned as he helped her to a seat. "They come with these…blinding flashes of pain."

"What were you thinking about?"

"When we came back through the Gate and you said something about retiring, and armbands…"

_A flash image of the armband which had fallen off and trapped her behind a goa'uld force shield popped into her head._

_"Sir?" She asked, groggily. She saw the armband and threw it further away. She crawled over to the force shield. "COLONEL!"_

_He gasped as he woke, noticing his own deactivated armband. "We should have brought more snacks," he said, dryly._

_"I don't think that would have helped." She said, shaking her head as she checked her watch._

_"1:56." He jumped up from looking at his own watch and began hitting the barrier between them in an attempt to free her._

_"Sir, you've got to get out of here."_

_"So do you." He said, trying to stay calm._

She rested her head against the back of the chair that he'd found for her. "They say remembering is painful, but I thought they'd meant that in a more…soulful sense."

Jack managed a minor amused smile before he reached for her hand. "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary. Find out what's going on here."

She nodded, slowly. "Okay."

He pressed a button, and looked at the blast door that didn't react to his command. He pressed it again, but still nothing happened. "Oh, for cryin' out loud!" He muttered, pressing the button for yet a third time.

"Jack?" Sam asked, looking over at him.

"The door. It's not opening."

"Let me have a crack at it," she said, walking over to him. "This button…is it the only way out?"

Jack nodded. "Pretty much."

"Here we go," she said, swallowing as she retrieved a hidden stash of tools from cut-out for the legs.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sam?"

"I keep these here because Felger likes to take my tools, sir," she said, absently.

She looked up, instantly, in confusion. "Sir?"

"Felger?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know what just happened." She admitted.

"Just remembering again." He said, motioning for her to continue.

"If you say so…" She said, shaking her head as she returned to work.


	61. DejaVu

"It seems that General O'Neill found General Carter," Mitchell announced, looking at Landry as they stood in the control room.

"Good. Now, let's hope that he can get her to remember who the hell she is," Landry said, gruffly.

"Sir, the blast door is closing, but General Carter didn't seem to activate it."

"O'Neill may have closed it," Landry said, shrugging off the concern. "He's probably thinking that they just need a little time uninterrupted in order to get to the heart of her memory."

"Yes, sir." Mitchell said, inhaling.

The Gate began spinning. "Incoming wormhole," Walter said, looking up at the General.

"I haven't gotten caught up on the mission files yet," Landry said, looking at Mitchell. "Is anyone due back?"

"SG-12, sir." He said, nodding.

"We're receiving SG-12's iris code, sir." Walter said, looking at the screen.

"Open the iris." Landry said, nodding.

Walter put his hand on the scanner in an effort to open the iris, but there was no response from the metal barricade.

"What is it?" Landry asked, looking at the Gate tech. "Open the iris."

"I'm trying, sir."

Landry leaned over the desk to the microphone, "SG-12, do not come through the Stargate. We're experiencing technical difficulties. The iris is not opening. Repeat. Do not come through the Stargate."

"Roger that," the commander returned. "Radio back when the Gate's clear. SG-12 out."

* * *

"There's got to be something we can do to get out of here," she said, standing.

"Not working, huh?" Jack asked from where he sat with his eyes closed as his head began to throb again.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. "Nothing I do is getting any kind of response."

"Of course not," he said, sarcastically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, shooting a look back at him.

"You probably don't remember this, but only a few days ago, we were trapped like this. In an elevator."

Her eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"You gave birth. You went into a coma, we tried to save your life, and here we are."

She swallowed. "A few…days?"

"Somewhere between two and three, I think it is, but then again, I lost track of time there for a while…"

_"When were you sure that you wanted to marry me?" She asked with a faint smile._

_He paused in surprise before he rocked back on his heels in thought. "I don't know…I guess when Daniel came through from that alternate reality and said that you and I had been engaged in that reality, and you said it was "theoretically possible", I started to think about the possibility, but…I don't think I really knew for sure…until…"_

_"Until when?" She prompted, reaching for his hand._

_He looked at her before he gently brushed away a tendril of sweat-drenched hair from her face. "I didn't know until I saw you on the other side of that goa'uld force shield."_

She clutched at her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "Gah…make it stop."

"C'mere," Jack murmured, sitting beside her. He helped to guide her aching head to his broad shoulder. "This should help."

_She'd eluded the warrior in the black suit for so long, and now, she was here, watching Jack and the bald man fight it. She was so tired. So, so tired._

_"C'mere," Jack murmured, allowing her to rest her cheek on his shoulder as she rested. _

_"Just…just for a minute…" she promised._

_"Take as long as you need, Carter." He said, soberly. "Take all the time you need."_

"Why do you think you're getting these headaches with each flashback?" Jack asked, looking over at her.

"I don't know," she sighed. "Punishment, maybe?"

"For what?" He asked, looking at her.

"For allowing myself to forget in the first place."

"That wasn't your fault." Jack murmured as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Yeah, well…" She said, somewhat bitterly. She exhaled slowly. "You said something about Jacob's birth going badly."

He inhaled sharply. "Yeah, that's…that's a long story."

"I'd like to hear it."

He inhaled. "After we call someone and tell them that we're stuck in here, okay?"

"You don't want to tell me." She accused as he stood.

"Sam…"

"Haven't figured out that cover story yet?" She asked, angrily. "God, I was such an idiot. I knew it. I knew I shouldn't have fallen for this…"

"It's not…" he began, angrily, before calming. "It's not a cover story thing, it's just hard for me to talk about."

She rolled her eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not going to tell you anything. Even if you do drug me."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" He yelled, whirling around. "Are you kidding? You still think that?"

"You're not exactly acting like a friend at the moment."

"Fine, you want to know how well I know you?" He asked, sitting in front of her. "I know you have a freckle right where your tail bone ends."

She tensed. "How did you…"

"I also know that when you were seventeen, you pierced your navel in an effort to be rebellious. You still have a scar because you got it done by a girlfriend at a party, and she botched the job."

She swallowed.

"I know your brother swore he'd never go military because he thought your dad cared more about his job than about his family."

"Stop," she breathed, on the verge of tears.

Jack leaned in so that his nose was only inches away from hers. "I know that you still can't eat chocolate chip cookies because that's the kind of cookie you'd been making when your dad came home and told you that your mother had died."

Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "How dare you!" She whispered, hurt.

"Come on…you try it," Jack egged.

"I-I don't know anything about you." She stammered.

"Take a stab in the dark." He challenged.

"Your…your father died in Vietnam when you were ten. Your mother…"

"My mother…"

Sam bit her lip. "You never talk about your mother. She…hurt you."

"She left me with my grandfather. Keep going."

"Why?" Sam asked, closing her eyes as she tried to keep the tears from falling even more.

"Because I have to get through to you that you're not just some…mental case. You're a woman who's lucky to be alive."

"Lucky?" She asked, sniffling.

"Yeah. Lucky."

"You try waking up from a nightmare only to realize you're in another one. You try living in a world where you're staring into the eyes of the man whom you supposedly married, and not recognize them at all. You try realizing that you don't have the body you thought you had and that it probably has something to do with a birth you don't even remember. You try wondering if you have just the one child or if you have more." She sniffled. "You try wondering if everything in this life is really yours or if it's just a dream conjured up by someone who's trying to mess with your sense of reality so that you'll spill all of the secrets he wants to know."

Jack inhaled slowly. "We have three kids." He said, swallowing. "Well…actually, to be more precise, I have a kid from a previous marriage…he's thirty. There's a young woman, Cassandra, who's pretty much like a daughter to us. She's twenty-six. We found and rescued her on one of the alien planets we visited as a team. Your best friend, Janet Fraiser, adopted her, and when Janet was killed in the line of duty, you, uh…you kind of stepped up to the plate and took care of Cassandra whenever she needed help."

She pressed a hand to her head, grimacing as she did when she was hit with a memory.

"What is it?" Jack asked, looking at her.

"The bald man…with the gold emblem on his forehead…Teal'c."

"Yeah."

"He's come into my office. I can't stop crying. I can't think of anything that would be good enough to say…I'm sad, and I'm scared, and I'm…relieved?"

Jack swallowed. "Go on…"

"He's offering me a piece of paper with…names on it. Says that he thought about what he would say if he'd been asked…"

She opened her eyes. "But I couldn't really take the time to talk to him about it. I had to go and pick Cassie up before the memorial service."

Jack nodded.

"Why was I relieved, Jack?" She asked, looking at him. "From what you've told me, my best friend had just died. IO shouldn't have been relieved at all."

"Because I was also injured on that mission," Jack said, remembering himself. "As I hear it, it was touch and go for a while, but…in the end, I was okay."

"Oh." She said, quietly. They spent a few moments in silence together before Sam looked up. "So…it's just the two adult "children" and this infant?"

"Actually, we adopted a little girl about a year after we got married." Jack said, shaking his head.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Her name is Grace. She's seven. She'll be eight in a few months. You call her "angel" because she once saved your life."

She raised an eyebrow. "What? How?"

"Well, actually, it was before she was even born. You were stuck in a space ship…you'd hit your head and gotten a pretty bad concussion, but you were all alone on the ship and the ship wouldn't move from where it had been trapped within a…dust cloud. Anyway, you started hallucinating as you were trying to save yourself. One of the hallucinations was this…little girl who called herself Grace."

"Hm…"

"You met her while volunteering at an elementary school during your leave. She'd been orphaned recently, and you swore that you needed to at least try to adopt her. So…we did."

"And then, we had a baby."

"Actually, we got pregnant about the time we adopted Grace." Jack said with a sad look in his eye.

"What happened?"

_She felt groggy. Someone had given her something. Some sort of sedative or pain killer..._

_She stirred gently. She needed to wake her mind up. What if she was the only one alert enough to get them home?_

_"Go to the Gate..." she murmured, still somewhat half-under, as she tried to reach anyone who might be in a better position to help than she was. "Radio for help..."_

_"Sam?" Jack asked, appearing in her line of sight as she opened her eyes._

_"Sir? What are you doing here?"_

_"Sam, you're on Earth," he reminded, gently._

_"Oh."_

_She looked around the room. She was in a hospital. She felt the cold metal of her wedding band. She wasn't out in the field at all. She was married. With a kid. And another on the way._

_"What happened?" She finally managed._

_Jack's face was suddenly lined with pain, and she looked up at him, worriedly. "An accident?"_

_He shook his head. "Uh...no..."_

_Suddenly, it all came back to her. The cramping, the blood, the dizziness, the terror..._

_"Jack, tell me we didn't..." She began as she felt panic well up within her._

_"It was all they could do to save your life," he said, softly._

She had tears slipping down her cheeks. "Never mind," she managed, shaking her head. "I remember."

"It took us another two years before we got pregnant with Jacob, and…it was rocky, but he is a fighter."

"Is he…still here?"

Jack nodded. "Although with you being all right now, they may move him to another hospital."

"What's wrong?" She asked, noticing the look on his face as he talked about the newborn.

Jack inhaled. "Jacob was born ten weeks premature. As a result, he's got underdeveloped lungs and probably because of that, he's got a weak heart." Jack sighed. "They've called in a specialist, and it sounds like he's a good guy, so…I don't think we need to worry."

"Isn't it a mother's job to worry?" Sam asked, soberly.

He nodded with an affectionate smile. "And it's a job that you're very good at."

She chuckled softly before she sobered. "I want to see him. I want to see them all."

Jack nodded before he stood. "Let me see if I can't tell someone that we're down here, and then, when they've rescued us, we'll head out."

"Okay." She said, continuing to sit as he stood and walked to the phone.

She let her eyes follow him. It wasn't hard to realize what she'd seen in him…physically, anyway. She'd always liked older men, and on this man, the gray made him look distinguished though his hair style made him look like a small boy who'd left the house too early to have his hair combed through. Still, he looked tired and worn – like the last few days had been far more than his usual load.

She bit her lip as he picked up the phone and put it to his ear, facing her as he leaned against the wall. "Hello?"

A moment passed as a troubled look appeared on his features. "Hello?" He asked again.

This did not bode well, she thought to herself as she watched anxiously.

"This is O'Neill. I'm in Carter's old lab. Can anyone hear me? We're stuck…"

He hit his fist against the wall in frustration as he slammed the phone back onto its receiver. "Dammit."

"Something's jamming communication too?" She asked, clearly unsurprised by the outcome.

"Must be." He said with a sigh.

She looked around the abandoned lab as she stood. "Well, if I can't find anything in here to get us out of here, we'll know I wasn't a very good scientist."

Jack's almost immediate look of pride and amusement almost escaped her notice as she continued to look for something to help her in her task. But when she noticed it, she felt shivers up and down her spine in a way she'd forgotten she could feel.

"Trapped in a lab with my husband and no memory," she murmured to herself. "Yeah, that's a recipe for disaster."


	62. Separation

"I don't want to play checkers anymore," Grace complained as she looked at the red and black checkered board on the table in front of Vala.

"All right…what do you want to do?"

"I want to see my mom." She said, turning. "I want to go home."

Vala inhaled before exhaling. "I don't think you can do that yet," she said with a small sigh. "At least until we get your mother all straightened out."

Grace sighed an adult sigh before walking over to the bed, picking up the crayons and paper that had been provided for her, and drawing slowly.

A knock on the door caused Vala to stand. "Who is it?" She asked as she approached the door.

"Charlie and Cassandra." Came a familiar voice.

Grace looked up instantly as Vala opened the door to reveal the adults.

"I think Daniel was looking for you," Cassandra said, looking at Vala.

"About time," Vala breathed as she slipped out the door.

"How's my mom?" Grace asked, looking up at Cassandra and Charlie with eager eyes.

"Uh, we're still waiting to hear," Cassandra lied, trying to manage an optimistic smile. "But until then…" She revealed a small sandwich bag with two cookies in it.

"Cookies!" Grace grinned as she reached for the bag.

"We know this has been hard for you," Charlie said, closing the door. "But waiting is the hardest part, and I have a feeling that part's almost over."

Grace managed a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"So, what have you been doing?" Cassandra asked, looking around the room.

"Playing chess and checkers…" Grace said, looking around. "It was boring."

"Well, like Charlie said, it's probably almost done," Cassandra assured, gently.

"I wish I'd brought a book to read," Grace sighed.

"Why don't you write one?" Cassandra suggested.

"What?" The little girl asked, surprised, looking up at Cassandra.

"Start writing," she said, pointing at the paper the girl had in front of her. "Start writing about this. I've heard it said that writers usually start with writing about the things with which they're most familiar. Maybe you should start with what's happening with your mom."

"But I don't know what's going on with my mom." She said, looking at Cassandra as her lip quivered slightly. "You won't tell me."

Cassandra looked at Charlie with a slightly panicked look on her face.

"Grace, there's something going on with your mom," Charlie said with a small sigh.

"And you didn't think I could handle it," she said, softly.

"No," Cassandra said, shaking her head. "It's just…we don't have enough information yet. There are a lot of things…"

"She doesn't remember much about her life past a certain point," Charlie said, sensing that the seven-year-old wasn't going to be satisfied with vague allusions to what had happened.

"Does she remember me?" Grace asked, quietly.

Cassandra felt tears well up in her eyes as she looked at Charlie and then back at the young girl. "Not right now. That's why we didn't want to tell you. Not until she got her memories back."

"Then, she's going to remember?" Grace asked, forlorn.

"I sure hope so," Cassandra said with a faltering smile.

"I should write about my mom." Grace said, looking at the paper. "So that she will remember who she is."

"I think she'd like that," Charlie said with a weak smile as Cassandra turned to him and buried her face in his chest again with the onset of her tears.

* * *

"Tell me what the hell just happened to our iris!" Landry demanded, shouting at the technicians.

"I'm on it, sir," Walter said, nodding.

A beep came from the computer, and Walter looked up at the General with a panicked look on his face. "Uh, sir…"

"What is it, Chief?" Landry asked, looking back from where he'd been preparing to walk up the stairs to the office.

OPERATION: WILDFIRE NOW IN EFFECT flashed on the screen as the klaxons began to sound their warning.

"What the…" Mitchell began.

"Sir, all of the blast doors have been closing – sealing our people inside various rooms and corridors." Another technician alerted, looking up from her computer screen.

"Why?" Landry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I-I…" The tech said, swallowing. "I don't know, sir."

"Well, find out!" Landry said as Mitchell's eyes widened.

"I think I know, sir." He finally piped up.

"What?" He asked, turning to the Colonel.

"Jackson…he saw it coming."

"Saw what coming, son? From where?"

"A few days ago, there was a power fluctuation that piggy-backed through the wormhole with SG-6."

"What happened?"

"Well, we only realized it was still in the computers once we realized that Generals Carter and O'Neill were stuck in the elevator with no means of communication to us or anyone in the outside world."

"But we destroyed that," Walter said, brow furrowing.

"Jackson said it was too easy." Mitchell said, shaking his head. "I guess the entity, or whatever you want to call it, managed to access the file on General's Carter experience with the last electrical entity that came onto the base. Because it managed to lure us into security by building a nest that General O'Neill blew up while General Carter was first being treated after her son's birth."

Landry sighed. "Theories for getting rid of it now?"

The entire control room was silent.

* * *

"So, what's the plan?"

Sam looked up at Jack from where she knelt on the ground beside a plasma cutter and welding helmet. "I'm going to get us out of here, and you're going to be patiently waiting until I do that."

"Of course…" He said, patiently as he sat back and allowed her to work. "Take your time."

She fell toward the door suddenly, placing a hand to her forehead and another to the metal door to stabilize herself. Another memory.

_"No pressure, Carter," he said, gently patting her on the shoulder. She knew better. If they didn't get off the ship soon, they'd be toast. "Plenty of time…"_

_She wanted to tell him to be quiet, but even that would take her attention away from her work for too long._

_"On the contrary, O'Neill." Teal'c said, soberly._

_Jack pulled away from her, and she could almost see him glaring at the Jaffa and giving Teal'c a cutthroat gesture in an effort to quiet him. "Lots and lots…of time."_

"Hey," he said, wrapping his arms around her in an effort to support her. "Another memory?"

She nodded, leaning against him. "We were in a ship, and you were trying to keep me calm even though I didn't have a lot of time to get us out of it."

"Ah, the "lots of time" thing?"

She nodded, slowly.

"So, why is this remembering thing so painful for you?" He asked, looking over at her as he brushed his lips against the top of her head in habit.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head as she rested her cheek against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

_"I'm so glad you're finally home," she whispered, curling up next to her husband._

_"Hey, I'm just glad it was only a week, not longer," Jack said with a patented O'Neill grin._

_She sighed softly as she put her ear to his chest and listened to the heartbeat she'd almost lost forever. "God, that's such a good sound," she murmured._

_"What?" He asked as his fingers gently ran through her hair._

_"Your heartbeat." She said with a small smile. "Strong and steady."_

_"Thanks to you." He said, affectionately._

_"And the doctors you've been seeing," she said, modestly._

_"It's more than just the fact that you did CPR or that you used the goa'uld healing device." He said, soberly. "You were my reason for living. For fighting."_

"Are you crying?"

Sam swallowed as she looked over at him. "Maybe," she admitted, wiping her eyes. "I just…"

"Yeah, this memory thing is painful, I get that." He said, gently.

"That memory," she whispered, softly. "It was the evening you'd come home from the hospital…from your heart attack."

"Ah." He said, understandingly.

"We'd been lying in bed together," she whispered.

"I remember," he nodded.

"Your heartbeat," she said with a small hitch in her voice. "It…reminded me."

"You don't have to explain. "He said, tenderly.

She swallowed as she slipped out of his arms. "We should get out of here before we get all sentimental and mushy."

"Sentimental and mushy is okay," Jack said with a faint smile on his face. "Especially with everything that's been going on in the last year."

She smiled softly. "And I appreciate that, but…" She inhaled slowly. "If there's something going on with the base that is making it so that we can't get through to them…"

"We should get our butts in gear," he said, nodding.

She reached for the helmet and put it on her head before she reached for the plasma cutter. "Stand back," she said, looking over at Jack before she fired up the cutter, and began her work.

* * *

"General Carter does not seem to have gone to the infirmary," Teal'c announced as he caught up with Daniel, who was standing outside her quarters.

"I don't think she's here either." He said, shaking his head. "No answer to my knocks."

The sudden onset of the alarms caused both men to look up in worry. "What's going on?" Daniel asked, looking at the Jaffa.

"I do not know, Daniel Jackson." He said, soberly.

"Let's go." He said, hurrying toward the control room.

* * *

With the flashing of warning lights and the sirens, Vala looked up around her. "Daniel…" She murmured as she turned to look for the father of her unborn child.

She felt like a fish, swimming upstream as she pushed past the few servicemen and women who were running in the direction from which she'd just come, but she had to find Daniel.

She turned the corner as one of the doors to a lab opened. "Daniel?" She asked, turning to look.

"We are not Daniel Jackson." A robotic voice greeted her as a metallic figure stepped out of the shadows.

She swallowed as she stared at the robot. "Wh-who are you?" She asked, her voice wavering in fear.

"We are the Legacy." He said, taking another step toward her as she took another step back. "We have come to visit those who would destroy us."

"Destroy?" She asked, her throat drying up.

"We have come for that which you have taken."

"What did we take?" She asked, looking up at the machine with wide eyes as her hands automatically cradled her belly protectively.

"Our future."

* * *

"You know, I miss this," Jack said from where he sat watching his wife using the plasma cutter.

"Seriously?" She asked, pausing for a moment as she removed her mask.

"Yeah." He said, nodding.

"What part?"

"All of it," he said with a faint smile. "This is how it started. You and me."

"That's right…" She said with a small snicker. "Top-secret missions. Escaping from the bad guys. Sounds like romance to me."

"Laugh if you want," Jack said, losing a little of the sparkle in his eyes.

She studied him. "I'm sorry," she said, biting her lip. "It's just…a little hard to believe sometimes…"

"What's hard to believe?" He asked, looking at her. "The fact that we used to ride through the galaxy, fighting aliens and finding alien technology? Or the fact that we started out commanding officer and second-in-command?"

She swallowed as she put the mask back onto her face. "That obvious, huh?"

"You've always held rules close to your heart." He said, seriously. "Me? I just followed them 'cuz I didn't want to be fired."

Sam hesitated for a moment as she held the torch in one hand before she flipped the helmet back up. "Something tells me that I wasn't really that good a wife to begin with."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"And a mother…" She sighed with self-deprecation. "I should never have put anyone through that."

"What makes you think that?" Jack asked, quietly.

"I remember everything up until a certain point, and then…it's gone."

"Then, those memories which are giving you a migraine are just…pretend?" He baited gently.

"Honestly, I don't know." She said, shaking her head. "But I can't think of any other reason that I would wake up with only half of memories."

"Come here," he said, taking her hand.

"We have to get out," she said, seriously.

"That can wait," he said, removing the torch from her hand before he tugged at her hand.

She exhaled slowly before following him to where they sat on two chairs at the workbench.

"There was some sort of short in the reactor that we used to power the device that saved your life." He said, soberly.

"And?"

"And we weren't sure you were going to wake up at all."

"But I did."

"There are a couple of theories about your amnesia. Either it's brain damage because of the short or it's just a side-effect of the coma."

"Or both," she said, softly.

He inhaled. "It's a possibility." He finally breathed as he nodded.

"Maybe the short is responsible for my pain."

"You'd have to check that with Lam," Jack said, noncommittally.

"So, is it permanent or…"

He shrugged. "You're going to have to talk to Lam."

"Right," she said, sighing. She managed a tight smile as she stood. "I have to get back to work or we'll never get out of here."

"Sam?"

She turned back to him, somewhat reluctantly. "Yes?"

"I'm willing to wait until you figure out what's going on," he said, seriously. "But I need to know that you're open to it."

She swallowed. "I need to get back to work. We need to know what the hell is going on with the rest of the base."


	63. Progress

"Dammit!" Daniel exclaimed as he reached one of the sealed blast doors. He pounded it for good measure before turning back to Teal'c. "That's the third dead end we've hit."

"Indeed," Teal'c said, raising a concerned eyebrow.

"I told him." Daniel fumed. "I told Mitchell that electrical thing wasn't gone yet. I mean, he knows that we've come up against something like this, and if he's read the mission report, you'd better believe that the electrical thing read the electronic copy of the report…Gah! I wish he'd actually listen to me, but no…I'm just the geek who was here f-!"

"Silence, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c commanded, looking at his friend.

Daniel inhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Vala's out there. I mean, if there is something locking us up and separating us from everyone else…who knows what its plans are once it does that. At least, if Vala was here, I'd…"

"You would know that she is well," Teal'c said, nodding in acknowledgment.

Daniel swallowed. "Look, I know I'm not the poster-child for normal…or even stable…"

"You are concerned about your impending parenthood."

"That's an understatement," Daniel said with a nervous laugh.

"You have the necessary knowledge and skill to be a suitable parent," Teal'c said, calmly. "Your child will be quite fortunate."

"Fortunate to have a dad that dies every year?" Daniel said, skeptically. "Or who routinely changes into some…other form? I mean, what? I've been an Ascended being, I've been a Prior, and then, there was that whole thing with Ma'chello…I mean, what kind of environment would that be for a kid? "Come on, honey, let's play who is Daddy this week?"."

"Then, perhaps, it is time to find an alternate vocation," Teal'c said, soberly.

Daniel turned a troubled eye to his friend. He studied the grey streak in the Jaffa's hair. "Do you have any regrets?"

"For what, Daniel Jackson?" He asked, quietly.

"Joining us? Leaving your wife and son on Chulak? Not being there to watch Rya'c grow up a little bit everyday?"

"I could not allow myself to regret my actions," Teal'c said, soberly. "I did what I must to save my people from their enslavement to false gods. I saved my son from my fate and the fate of our ancestors." He softened somewhat before he continued. "But there are times when I wonder why I could not fight for my people alongside my wife and child."

"I guess we've all got tough choices to make when we know the threat out there," Daniel said after a moment.

Teal'c merely nodded.

* * *

"General," Walter announced, looking back at Landry.

"Yes, Chief?"

"There seems to be someone or something accessing our computer from a remote wireless connection."

"Shut it down, Chief."

"I'm trying, sir, but it's shut me out of the system." Walter said, trying once again to access the system.

"What is it doing?" Mitchell asked, looking over the shoulder of the Gate technician.

"So far, it's only opened the blast door to one of the remote labs that had originally been sealed off." Walter said, studying the screen.

"Well, good, that means it doesn't have access to these systems here."

"Begging your pardon, sir," one of the other techs said, looking up at Mitchell's statement. "But that's unlikely. I mean, we've already received a communication that began Operation Wildfire, and began the base lock-down in the first place. That's a command that has to initiate here."

"Auto-Destruct in one-hundred, twenty minutes," the automated voice of the self-destruct command informed.

"So does that," Mitchell said with a sigh.

"Do something to fix it," Landry ordered. "And fast."

* * *

"I'm through," Sam announced, pulling off the welding mask as the metal plate she'd just cut out of the blast door.

"Nice work," Jack said, coldly.

She bit her lip as she closed her eyes. "Jack…"

"We have a base to save, Carter." He said, abruptly. "And you've already made it pretty clear that's your first priority."

She inhaled, sharply, as she felt the sting of his words.

"Shall we?" He asked, motioning to the opening.

She nodded earnestly as she crawled through the hole.

* * *

"Auto-Destruct in one-hundred, twenty minutes," a voice announced over the intercom.

Cassandra tensed as she looked at Charlie.

"I'll go see what's going on," he said, standing. "See if I can help."

"Are you sure that's wise?" She asked, swallowing.

"From what I hear, sometimes they just need an extra hand."

She nodded, slowly.

"Take care of yourself." He said, soberly. "And her too."

Cassandra let her eyes wander to where Charlie had motioned: the place where Grace was lying asleep on the Queen-size bed. She looked back at him with a tired nod. "I will."

Charlie sighed softly before gently squeezing her shoulder. "It'll be okay."

She managed a weak smile, clearly trying to be brave. "I'm sure."

"Hey," he whispered, softly, as he knelt down next to her.

She felt her strength crumbling as he studied her face. "Talk to me."

''What is there to say?" She asked, trying to shrug her insecurity off with a chuckle.

"Cassandra," he murmured, gently brushing his hand against her cheek.

She felt the tears well up in her eyes and spill over onto her cheeks. "I…I…" She started.

The emotional toll of the day came flooding as she felt the lump in her throat get in the way of her words, and Charlie quickly wrapped his arms around her as if he was the only thing that would keep her together. "Sh," he soothed as he held her. "You're all right. I'm here. Everything's going to be all right."

"I swear I'm not normally this weepy," she erupted, unable to control the volume of her voice as she sniffled.

"Hey," he said with a gentle smile. "You've had a tough day. You came here ready to save the day, and now, you're tired. It was bound to happen." He brushed an errant strand of hair from her eyes. "Look, why don't you go and lie down next to Grace? I'll stay here and keep and eye on you both, okay?"

"What about helping outside?" She asked, sniffling.

"You're probably right about them needing someone who's trained for this sort of situation." He said, shrugging. "If they need me, I'm sure someone will come and find me."

"It's just…so scary…" She whispered after a moment. "This place has…been connected to everything I've ever lost, and now…"

"Sam means a lot to you," he said with understanding.

"Closest thing to a mother I still have," she said, solemnly.

He pulled her close, brushing his lips against her forehead as he comforted her again. "She's going to come back," he promised, pulling away.

"You don't know that," she said, eyes watering.

"I don't know her very well," he admitted. "But I do know that she loves all of you enough that whatever part of her is still in there will be fighting hard to get back to you."

She bit her lip before managing a small smile.

"Come on," he murmured, tugging on her hand. "You need some rest."

"No," she whispered, turning to him.

"Hey, I know you're the med student, but I happen to know a few things about the human body."

"No, I know." She said, shaking her head. "But…I don't really want…"

He swallowed before standing up and slipping back onto the couch beside her. "Guin…hated to be alone when she was scared. And she didn't just want me in the same house, she wanted me right there with her. Touching her. Holding her."

"I understand if…" Cassandra murmured, looking away. "If you don't…"

A hand slid across her shoulder before it gently pulled her toward him, guiding her cheek to his shoulder. "Sh," he interrupted, gently. "I didn't mean to make excuses. I just meant that I have a lot of experience."

"Thank you," she whispered, softly, as she looked up at him.

He kissed her forehead somewhat hesitantly. "You're welcome."

* * *

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Sam cried as she and Jack turned the corner to find the second closed blast door that sealed them into the corridor. "We can't just keep burning holes in these damn doors!"

"No, we can't," he said, nodding. "So, let's come up with another plan."

"How are we going to open a door that's been remotely shut down?" She demanded.

"You tell me." He challenged.

"Excuse me…amnesia here."

"Science and engineering are a couple of the threads running through your life." He said, earnestly. "So, figure something out. I know you can."

"Well, maybe I'm not this genius woman you've got in your head!" She cried, angrily. "No one can be that wonderful, and it's damn intimidating to figure out that perfection is the expectation in this relationship!"

Jack paused for a moment as Sam recovered from her rant.

"I never said you were perfect." He said, seriously.

She swallowed. "No," she said, shaking her head. "But I'm commander of this facility. I'm a Brigadier General. I've apparently written a whole new chapter in astrophysics." She swallowed. "And besides all of that "superhero" crap you're all feeding me, I'm a mother to three kids, practically four. Add a white picket fence, and that's pretty much perfection for you, isn't it?"

"You're awfully full of yourself to think our lives revolve around you and your "perfection"." He said, honestly before he turned around.

"Where are you going?" She asked, bitterly.

"To find a plan B." He said, turning back toward her. "And if you want to join me, I'll be in your old lab."

She groaned in frustration as he left again. "Oh, for cryin' out loud!"


	64. Penance

Vala watched in morbid fascination as the metal man, of sorts, turned to look at the blast door which enclosed her with it in this corridor. In a moment, the metal door began to move, and the robot returned his attention to her.

"Come," it commanded, looking at Vala.

"Where are we going?" She managed with a timid voice.

"To my world. We will take you as compensation for our lost future."

"How exactly does one lose a future?" She asked, somewhat cheekily.

She won a glare from the robot, causing her smile to fade from her lips. "Right. Not funny."

"Four people, wearing clothes like those you are wearing," it said, motioning to her uniform. "Came to our world and took our future."

"But it can't be something tangible that they could just…remove…" Vala said, skeptically.

"Your future is carried within you," the robot returned as he motioned to her belly.

She swallowed as she looked down and then back up at the robot. "They took your children?"

"We will take your future, and when it comes forth, it will house the Legacy."

"Look, I know the people here," she said, earnestly. "I'm sure they didn't take your…future…on purpose. They probably thought it was something else. Now, let's go find Daniel. Maybe he knows what you're looking for. I'm sure it's just fine, and you can take it home with you, and we will promise never to come back."

"Daniel Jackson spoke to the one who took the future. According to the Legacy, he is as guilty as they."

"What did he say to them?" Vala asked, eyes wide in vulnerability.

"He told them to take the future."

"Now, I'm sure…"

Suddenly, a hologram projection appeared before her. She could see Daniel, Teal'c and Mitchell in the control room, speaking into a microphone as they tried to communicate through an active wormhole.

"Satterfield, I just looked at the footage you sent back," Daniel's voice said, clearly. "The urn is the closest thing we have to a reference to any Earth culture there. Can you bring it back through? I'd like to study the markings on it. See if it was something foreign that the culture brought back for study before they abandoned the city or if it is some sort of cross-cultural tie-in. I mean, this could be the key to finding out why they left the city in such a hurry to begin with."

"Okay, Dr. Jackson." The woman's voice returned. "Wrapping it up now."

The hologram shut down and the robot looked at Vala, who was almost sick to her stomach to see the evidence of Daniel's participation. "Daniel Jackson is the only guilty one with future." It looked down at her stomach. "Your future."

* * *

"Did you see something like this happening?" Jack asked, looking at his wife as she pulled out an older-style laptop from one of the many nooks and crannies she'd revealed since they'd gotten trapped in the lab. "I mean, did you have some sort of psychic vision you had that made you hide all of this stuff in an abandoned lab?"

"Shut up," Sam said, concentrating as she typed furiously on the keyboard. Things were flowing from her fingers into the computer as if she was on auto-pilot, but none of the information that was popping up on the screen seemed familiar – at least, not to her conscious mind – but if she really was the woman that everyone claimed she was, it probably wasn't too far-fetched to believe that she could bypass nearly any system in the Mountain remotely.

Suddenly, the base schematics appeared, and Sam sat back in surprise.

"Carter?" Jack asked, looking over at her.

"Uh, it looks like all of the access points have been sealed off," she said, pointing to the barriers apparent on the screen.

"I figured that out when I realized that we were locked in to this corridor. But we have the self-destruct giving us a deadline, so…can we move on to the part where you open all the doors and save our asses?" Jack asked, urgently.

"It looks like whatever is holding us prisoner here is opening up the blast doors as it travels from here," she said, pointing to a point on the screen. "To here." She pointed to another point. "I'm not exactly sure where it's…"

"The Gate Room." Jack said, instantly.

"It wants to leave." Sam deduced.

"Well, that's all fine and good, but it's probably just leaving so that it doesn't get blown to kingdom come." He put a hand on her shoulder as he had as her commanding officer. "Let's stop that, okay?"

"Jack…"

"You can do it, Carter." He said, earnestly. "I know you can do it because you've done it before, and you'll do it again."

She swallowed. "I'll do my best." She said, nodding.

* * *

"It doesn't make sense," Daniel muttered as he sat in the corridor next to Teal'c.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow, turning to the archaeologist. "What is on your mind, Daniel Jackson?"

"This…electrical entity thing. It doesn't make sense."

Teal'c was silent, and Daniel looked up to see the confusion on his face.

"Do you remember the last time this happened? When it came and took over Sam's body?"

"Indeed." The Jaffa replied as he turned away to hide his disgust with the memory.

"That entity attacked us because we had attacked it first. I mean, we didn't realize we'd attacked it, but all the same, we'd started a massive plague in their world, right?"

Teal'c nodded.

"But the world this entity came from had been abandoned." Daniel said, earnestly.

"So it appeared," Teal'c agreed.

"Appeared," Daniel repeated as the word began to open the locked doors of his mind. "Appeared…" Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he jumped up, excitedly. "Yes! YES! Appeared! Appeared!"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Teal'c, it wasn't an abandoned city. It just _appeared_ to be abandoned because we didn't know what we were looking for."

The Jaffa's confused expression did not leave his face as Daniel continued.

"It was a working civilization, but they weren't so much corporeal as they were electrical." Daniel bit the inside of his cheek as he thought about it. "But what could we have done to piss them off?"

"You removed an artifact from their homeworld." Teal'c said, stoically. "Perhaps it was of great significance to their culture."

"Yes," Daniel said, nodding. "I didn't get far on the translation with everything that was going on, but I noticed a word that seemed to be Ancient…uh…" He put his hand on his forehead as he tried to remember. "Uh…loosely translated it meant…legacy. Or future…I didn't get far enough in the translation to figure out which." Daniel's eyes widened. "We took their legacy, their future. No wonder they're angry."

"We must return it before this facility is destroyed." Teal'c said, soberly.

"I would," Daniel said, kicking the closed blast door. "But we can't get to my lab from here with all of the doors locked between here and there."

Suddenly, the door began to lift, slowly making its ascent to free its prisoners. Daniel stared at his foot in surprise. "I didn't think that would work," he murmured to himself.

"Perhaps someone else has managed to gain control of the facilities."

"I sure hope so," Daniel said as the door reached a point where the men could duck underneath it. "Because if they didn't, this is going to be a short trip."

* * *

"I knew you could do it!" Jack cried as he slapped Sam across the shoulders, excitedly.

She managed a weak smile as she watched the blast door retreat back into the wall where it had come from. "Now, for the auto-destruct." She said, swallowing.

_"I'll need two officers to override…"_

She grimaced again, pressing her wrist against her temple in agony.

"Sam?" Jack asked, gently touching her shoulder.

"I need another officer," she groaned. "I need another officer to shut down the self-destruct."

"Carter, you've done enough." Jack said, firmly. "I'm taking you back to the infirmary, and then, I'm going to talk to Landry. We'll shut down the auto-destruct from the control room."

"No," she cried, shutting her eyes firmly. "You don't understand! It's too hard…it's too hard…"

"What's too hard?" He asked, trying to look into her face.

"Getting past the new protocols," she said with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I've already done it once. I have to do it again."

"Sam," he whispered, tenderly.

She opened her eyes, and he could see the physical, emotional, and psychological pain that she was in. "I have to do this," she whispered.

"The pain. The headaches. They're getting worse, aren't they?" He asked, softly.

She swallowed as she stood, faltering for a moment before Jack pressed his hand under her elbow to stabilize her. "Let's go. We have a base to save."

* * *

The sound of the Stargate's spinning caught everyone in the Gate room by surprise. "Is anyone due to come back?" Landry asked, looking at Walter.

"No, sir." He said, shaking his head. "But…it's an outgoing wormhole. Not an incoming wormhole."

"Outgoing wormhole?" Landry asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Dialed from a remote location, sir."

"Sir, the safety protocols from Operation: Wildfire have been overwritten." One of the other techs announced. "Also from a remote location."

"And the self-destruct?"

"Still counting down, sir. Seventeen minutes to go."

"Great," Landry sighed. "Try to get access to the self-destruct. We'll shut it down from here."

"Yes, sir," Walter said, swallowing somewhat nervously.

* * *

"Coming through! Coming through!" Daniel announced as he tried to maneuver his way through the crowds of worried servicemen.

"What's going on, Dr. Jackson?" Someone asked though the archaeologist didn't pause.

"No time to explain." He called back. "Excuse me! Coming through!"

It was only a few minutes before he arrived at the lab. "A ha!" He cried as he retrieved the urn. "Teal'c, do you think you can blaze a trail to the control room? I need to get this through!"

* * *

Vala's arm was forced behind her back as the robot pushed her through the swarm of people who had been trapped within the corridors.

"Move or she dies!" The robot commanded.

"Someone call Daniel!" Vala cried. "Tell him that the urn that Lt. Satterfield brought back from…"

She crumpled in the robot's arms, unconscious, upon receiving a blow to the head from the very thing that held her. "You will allow me to return home. This future is mine by order of the Legacy."

* * *

"Landry! I found her!" Jack called as they approached the control room. "She's managed to hack back into our systems, but she needs another officer to override the self-destruct."

"That is, once I get through the protocols," Sam corrected as she looked at the General.

"Carter's access code won't work any more than yours would, Jack," Landry said, soberly. "Even if she could remember it. She's been locked out of the system."

Jack opened his mouth to speak, and Sam looked at the General. "All due respect, sir, but I don't care if my access code will work. I just want to keep from getting blown to smithereens."

"Do your stuff," General Landry said, pointing to the computer terminal.

"Thank you, sir," she said, sitting down in the chair that Walter instantly vacated. She looked up at Jack with a nervous smile. "Here we go."

_"Attention all personnel: unauthorized Stargate activation."_

"GAH!" She cried, clutching at her head.

"_Carter, close the blast doors and corridors to Alpha and Charlie. Disable 'em." Jack commanded._

_"I need an authorized officer's security code to disable." She returned as Jack typed a few letters and numbers into a keyboard. _

_"There you go."_

"Sam!" Jack said, instantly in her face.

"I'm okay," she said, breathing heavily as she tried to recover from the attack. She turned back to the computer screen.

_With the help of the armbands, they had taken control of the Gate room in only a matter of seconds, disabling the technicians and officers there before she input the program into the computer._

_"Let's go!" She announced to the rest of the group._

_In a flash, they were in the Gate room, waiting for the Gate to finish dialing._

_"O'Neill."_

_They all turned to find Teal'c walking into the room._

_"Not this time, Teal'c," Jack said as the three of them zoomed into the open wormhole._

"I can't do it," she whispered, doubled over in pain. "But I can try to walk you through it…"

Jack helped Sam out of the chair as Walter took over. "Ready and awaiting your orders, ma'am," he said, earnestly.

"Vala!" Mitchell cried in surprise as the robot entered the Gate room, carrying the unconscious woman.

The robot turned his head toward the control room before he stepped up to the ramp.

"Close the iris," Sam murmured, clutching her head.

"We've tried…" Walter said, apologetically.

"Try again." She said, pressing her palm against the palm scanner.

A red warning screen appeared on the computer. _Unauthorized User._

"Let me," Mitchell said, pressing his own palm against the scanner.

"Still nothing," Walter said, shaking his head.

"Let me see what I can do," Sam said, standing.

"General Landry!" Daniel cried, appearing in the control room. "I know what the…" He faltered as he saw the unconscious Vala. "What the hell's going on?" He demanded as he pressed the button to activate the microphone.

The robot turned. "You have taken our future, Daniel Jackson. And so, we will take yours."

"No, no, no, no! You can't do that!" Daniel cried. "We didn't know what it was, we have it!"

Suddenly, the iris closed, and all eyes turned to find Sam at the control panel in the Gate room, trying to shut down the wormhole.

The robot put Vala on the ramp before turning his attention to Sam, grabbing her by the neck and slamming her against the wall.

"SAM!" Jack cried from the control room.

Sam clutched at the robot's metal fingers in an attempt to pry his grasp from her as Daniel, Teal'c, Mitchell, and Jack ran from the control room to the gate room.

"You have stolen our future, and now, you would prevent our return to our people!" The robot cried, staring at Sam, angrily.

"We have your "future"." Daniel said upon verifying that Vala was still alive. "And we'll give it to you. We'll even let you go home, but we're keeping Vala here. With us."

Sam's physical fighting against the strangulation weakened little by little, and Jack's keen eye caught it. With the pistol he'd retrieved from Sam when they'd first been locked in her lab together, he pointed at the machine. "Let her go." He commanded.

"You cannot kill me."

"No," Jack acknowledged. "But I can damage you."

The shot rang from the gun, hitting the robot in the shoulder. In his surprise, the robot let go of Sam and turned back to the rescue party as she crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"Take your future," Daniel said, offering the urn to the robot. "We'll open the iris, and we'll all go back to our lives."

The robot looked at where Vala was being carried from the Gate room with her arms around the necks of both Mitchell and Teal'c. "She said you did not know what you had stolen."

"She was right," Daniel said, earnestly. "And when you get to the other side, you can bury your Stargate, and we'll never come back."

The robot nodded slowly. Within a moment, the iris opened again, and the robot stretched forth his hand. "Please, Daniel Jackson, return our future to us."

Daniel handed him the urn as the intercom started: "Self-destruct aborted."

"It may seem, Daniel Jackson," the robot said, turning back to Daniel for a moment. "That a place is deserted, and that it has no purpose, but perhaps, there is more than meets the eye."

Daniel nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

The robot nodded before finishing his trek through the event horizon. Jack watched the metal man disappear before racing to his wife's side. "Sam," he whispered as he gently brushed her hair away from her face.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him with a tender smile. "Jack," she whispered, hoarsely, as her eyes slipped closed again in with the exhaustion plaguing her body. "My Jack."


	65. Return

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I'm at the tail end of moving across the country. Since I'm settling in and starting a new job, updates may be sporadic, but I'll try to at least get you one every weekend. Sorry for any inconvenience!

* * *

If there was one thing Samantha Carter could count on, it was the person who would be waiting by her bedside for her to wake up after an illness or trauma, and today was no different, she mused to herself as her eyes opened slowly. There, with his hand wrapped around her own and his head resting against the bed, sat her husband.

She smiled softly as she allowed her hand to slip from his own and feather through his unruly hair.

"Wha?" Jack gasped as he woke.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she teased with a faint smile as she continued to touch the gray hair at his temple.

"What are you doing?" He asked with an amused smile.

"You've never complained about it before," she said with a tender smile.

"No, I suppose I haven't," he admitted.

She swallowed as she let her hand slip back down to the bed, and the smile from her lips.

"What's wrong?" He asked, gently.

"It's true," she said, softly. "What they say about your life passing before your eyes when you're faced with death."

"You remember everything then?" He asked, gently.

"Yes," she said with a small sigh.

"Isn't that good news?" He asked, quietly.

She managed a preoccupied smile. "Of course, it is. I'm just…" Even the false smile she'd managed began to falter. "It's been a long day."

"Talk to me," he whispered, leaning in so that he could gently touch her face.

"Can I see the baby?" She asked, softly. "I mean, I overheard some of the nurses talking, and I know I probably can't hold him, but I…" Her voice hitched slightly. "I…I need to see him."

"Okay," he said, nodding as he gently patted her thigh before he stood. "I'll go see what I can do, okay?"

"Thank you," she said with a grateful smile.

She sighed softly as she touched the bruises on her neck. She managed a painful swallow before she rolled over and wrapped her arms around her pillow in an effort to comfort herself.

Without a word, Jack turned back to look at her with a sigh. She'd shut herself off from him again. For what reason, though, he couldn't claim to know. He exhaled loudly as a nurse passed by him. He shook his thoughts from his mind before he caught her arm. "Uh…my wife…she'd like to see the baby."

"I'll have to speak with Dr. Montgomery," she said, turning a critical eye back to where Sam lay. "But I'm sure that would be fine."

"Thanks." He said, rubbing his face with his hand.

"Dad."

Charlie's voice brought his face back down from his face, and he managed a tired smile. "Hey, kid."

"Mitchell came by and told us what had happened," Charlie said, earnestly. "We figured someone should come and see what's going on before we bring Grace by."

Jack nodded. "That was wise."

"Something wrong?" Charlie asked, concerned.

"Yes." Jack said, nodding. "But I'm not exactly sure what it is…"

"Ah." Charlie said in understanding.

"How are as Cassandra and Grace?"

"A little worried, but okay." He reported.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on them while I had to take care of everything here." He said, looking back at where his wife lay, forlorn.

"Still no memories?" Charlie asked, noticing her pain.

"Actually, they're back."

"Really?" Charlie asked, surprised.

He nodded. "I'm not sure why that isn't cause to celebrate, but maybe it just…came at too high a cost."

"Life flashing before your eyes kind of thing?"

He nodded.

"General O'Neill?"

Jack turned to face an old man with smiley eyes and carefully groomed white hair. "Retired. Call me Jack."

"Jack," the man said, nodding. "My name is Vincent Montgomery. I've been supervising your son's treatment."

"Of course," Jack said, recognizing his name. "Uh, Dr. Montgomery, this is my eldest son, Charlie."

"Charlie." The doctor greeted.

"Doctor." Charlie returned.

The doctor turned his attention back to Jack. "One of the nurses told me that your wife was interested in seeing your son."

He nodded. "She hasn't gotten to see him except for a few moments just after his birth."

"Yes, I heard." Montgomery said, nodding. "Unfortunately, with all of the equipment that he needs right now, your son can't be moved."

Jack swallowed before nodding. "Right. I'll tell…"

"If she's feeling up to it, however, she could certainly come and visit him."

"I'm sure she'll want to rest for a little while longer with the…you know…" He motioned to his neck. "But I'm sure she'll want to see him before the end of the day."

"Just let me know or tell one of the nurses."

"Thanks for the help, Doctor."

"My pleasure." He said as he left.

Jack watched him leave for a moment before he turned back to his son. "Now, I get to break the news."

"Good luck, Dad."

Jack managed a grateful smile before he walked back to his wife's bedside. He swallowed before taking a seat in front of her.

She studied his face for a moment, her face acting as a mask of numbness than an admission to one feeling or another. "They said I couldn't see him, didn't they?"

"Not exactly." He said, shaking his head. "They just said they couldn't bring him to you. You have to go to him." He studied her for a moment. "Once you're up to it, of course."

She nodded. "I expected as much," she said, quietly.

He put a hand on her arm, and looked into her eyes. She inhaled sharply, recognizing that he was using his ability to see past her defenses. "What's going on, Sam?" He asked, soberly.

Her gaze fell to the cement floor at the base of his chair.

"Sam," he whispered, gently pushing her chin up so that she was forced to look at him. "Talk to me."

Her bottom lip quivered for a moment as she tried to hold back the flood of emotion in her for even just a few more moments.

"C'mere," he whispered, slipping onto the bed so that he could pull her into his arms.

Her exterior crumbled as the dam broke within her and sobs burst from the depth of her soul.

* * *

A timid knock woke Vala from a light nap. "Come in," she murmured, groggily.

Daniel poked his head around the door. "Hi."

"Daniel," she greeted, tiredly.

"How are you doing?" He asked, concerned, as he stepped into the room with a small pot of flowers in his hands.

"I'll live," she said with a tiny smile as she looked at the flowers. "What are those for?"

"Uh, you." He said, setting them on the table beside her bed.

"Thank you," she said with a grateful smile.

They lapsed into silence, and Daniel inhaled, nervously. "Uh…Sam's awake. She got her memory back it sounds like."

"That's wonderful. We can visit each other once one or the other of us gets the okay from Dr. Lam."

"Uh…right." He said, nervously. "I should have realized that you would…I'm sure you'll both be up and about in no time."

"What is it, Daniel?" Vala asked, pointedly.

He inhaled. "It?"

"The reason you're so fidgety. What is it?"

He swallowed as he sat down beside her. "I shouldn't have asked Satterfield to get that urn."

"There was no way you could have known that it would lead to this," she assured. "I don't blame you."

"Vala, I should have known."

"How could you have known?" She asked, soberly. "It said something about the future. For all you knew, it could have been scrolls."

"Actually, that's exactly what I thought it was," he admitted.

"Then, I don't blame you, and you shouldn't blame yourself." She said, lying back against the pillow.

There was a brief pause.

"I could have lost you," he said, softly.

"You didn't." She said, quietly. "You wouldn't have let him take me. You didn't let him take me."

"Maybe," he admitted. "But you should have been right there next to me. I mean, since you got here, you've been my shadow." He swallowed. "You and I should have been in the same place. Like Sam and Jack were."

"Daniel," she sighed.

"Just…I'm sorry I've been leaving you alone so much lately." He heaved. "I'll try to do better."

"Good. I'd like that." She said with a small smile.

"Good." He said, returning it.

"Now…I seem to recall that the mess hall makes a wonderful pancakes and ice cream."

"Pancakes and ice cream?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, that must have been when I was in your body," she said, her face sobering with the memory.

He looked down at his stomach with a slightly disgusted look on his face. "You mean that's why I gained like…five pounds after that whole thing?"

She shrugged with a sheepish smile on her face.

He laughed before bending and kissing her forehead. "I'll be back with your pancakes and ice cream."

"Chocolate. Actually, rocky road if they have it."

"Yes, ma'am," he winked before he left the room.

* * *

"I think I'm ready," Sam said, wiping her eyes as she pulled away from her husband's embrace.

"Are you sure?" He asked, soberly.

She offered him a small smile as she nodded. "I think I just needed a release…the last few days have been pretty taxing."

"Yeah," he said with an appreciative chuckle.

"How have you been?" She asked, studying him closely.

"Oh, I'm fine." He said, shrugging. "But I'm not exactly that one who's been facing death on and off for the last few days."

"Maybe not," she admitted. "But you were the one who had to watch me go through it which is just as taxing, if not more."

He reached for her hand, and brought it up to his lips in an unusually intimate gesture, before kissing it, tenderly. "If you're okay, I'm okay."

She smiled softly. "I'm okay." She sobered slightly. "At least, I'm going to be okay." She grinned. "You know, with therapy and a few glasses of wine…"

He chuckled, appreciatively. "As long as I can join you with at least one of the glasses of wine…or, you know, beer…"

"We'll play it by ear," she said with a small smile.

"You want me to take get the doc?" He asked, motioning behind him. "I can see if Jacob's ready…"

She nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"Then, we get lunch." He said, eagerly.

She smiled. "Then, we'll get lunch. And…see Grace, Charlie and Cassandra?"

"I'm sure they'd all like that." Jack said, nodding.

"How's Vala?" She asked with her brow knitted together in concern. "In all of the thoughts going through my head, I didn't ask…"

"She's going to be fine." He said, seriously. "Dr. Lam wants her to stay overnight for observation, but she's probably fine."

"Good to hear." Sam said, honestly.

"Yep."

"Let's go," she murmured, pulling the blankets from over her legs.

"Whoa," Jack said, tugging on her arm. "Do you really think you should just be walking all over the infirmary?"

She swallowed. "Probably not, but I can't stand not to see my baby any longer."

He nodded before he stood and walked over, offering her his hand. "If you're going to do this, you're going to have to let me help you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she said, accepting his hand as she stood.

* * *

"Grace."

The soft whisper woke the little girl almost instantly. "Charlie!" She cried as she shot up.

"Calm down," he said with a faint chuckle at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Sorry," she said, sheepishly.

"It's okay," he smiled. "I have some good news."

"What is it?"

"Your mom's got her memory back."

She grinned instantly. "I knew it!"

"Dad's taking her to see Jacob, and then, when they get lunch, they'd like to see us."

Grace grinned as she threw her arms around her older brother's neck. "YES!"

"I was looking for a little more enthusiasm, but this'll do," Charlie teased.

Cassandra joined Grace's giggle, encouraging Charlie to chuckle whole-heartedly as well. "Go on, kid," Charlie said as they all calmed down. "Go get dressed."

"Yes, sir." Grace said, offering him a mock-salute.

"I haven't heard you laugh like that since you got here," Cassandra said as Grace stepped into the small bathroom off the VIP room.

"Yeah, well, you haven't giggled since we met." He said with a smile.

She managed a sheepish smile. "I guess…everything feels like it's going to b e okay."

"Yeah." He said, nodding. "I know the feeling."

* * *

"You are so right," Sam whispered from where she stood beside her husband, watching their newborn sleep. "He does kind of look like my dad."

"Kind of?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

She bit her lip as she looked back over at him. "He has my dad's chin. But he has my eyes. Which I inherited from my mother." She said as tears clouded her vision. She coughed. "And, of course, he's got your hair. Cowlick and all."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him as he chuckled. "Yeah, I noticed that."

"I want to hold him," she admitted, softly, as she allowed herself to lean on him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"I know," he said, softly.

One of the nurses walked over, carefully looking at the premature baby's vitals. She looked up as she noted a few things on the chart. "Would you like to feed him?" She asked, returning to her work.

Sam's head shot up in surprise. "I can?"

"I'd have to check with the doctor, but I'm sure it would be okay."

"I'd like that." She admitted, nodding.

"I'll go check with him." The nurse said, finishing up her work.

"Thank you," Jack said, turning his head so that he could thank her.

"You're welcome." She said, nodding.

The infant stirred, catching his mother's attention again. "Hello, sweet boy," she whispered, touching the glass. "It's your mom."

The baby opened his eyes for a moment, looking up at her as her eyes welled up with tears. "You don't know how long I waited for you," she whispered. "But trust me, it was worth the wait."

Jacob looked at her for a few more moments, uttering a tiny wimper before he closed his eyes again.

"Rest." She whispered, gently. "Get strong, and then, we'll take you home where we'll take good care of you. Your dad, your sister, and I…we'll all take good care of you."

Sam turned away from the small bassinette as she was overcome with emotion.

"Hey," Jack said, wrapping his arms around her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she croaked, clearly lying.

"C'mere," he murmured, holding her close to him.

She closed her eyes and clung to him as silent tears slipped down her cheeks and onto his shirt. "He looks so tiny," she whispered. "So fragile."

"I know," he whispered, comforting her. "I know."

The nurse returned a few moments later, causing Sam to pull away from her husband and wipe at her eyes.

"Dr. Montgomery agreed with me. I'll set you up if you'd like to sit here," she said, motioning to the small rocking chair by the bassinette.

Sam nodded as she did so.

"We've been feeding him formula through a tube for the time being, but it might be good for both of you if you breast fed." The nurse said, gently. "It might be able to help you two to reconnect."

Sam nodded as she inhaled.

"But it's all right if you're not comfortable with that."

"No, I…as long as Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Lam thinks it's all right, I'd…I'd like to." She admitted.

"Well, I've already checked with Dr. Lam. She said it shouldn't be a problem. And Dr. Montgomery didn't see any trace chemicals in your blood tests that would be a problem." The nurse said, shaking her head. "But, again, if you'd like to wait a few days and decide…"

"Maybe that would be best," she admitted. "I'm still not exactly sure what they've given me over the last few days, and I don't want to hurt him."

"All right, that's understandable." The nurse said, nodding. "Here's a bottle then. You'll probably have to teach him what it's for since he's only been fed through a tube until now."

"Teach him?" Sam asked, nervously.

"Babies usually pick it up pretty quickly," the nurse said with a small smile. "It's pretty instinctual for the most part."

"Okay." She said, swallowing. She looked at Jack for confirmation, and he nodded his support as the nurse walked over and picked little Jacob up. The baby whimpered slightly, and Sam swallowed as the nurse cooed, softly. "Oh, sweetie, it's okay. You're gonna meet your mama, and everything's gonna be just fine."

"Here you go," the nurse said, gently. "Support his head," she instructed, positioning Sam's arm just right. "That's it, that's it."

"How do you know all of this?" Sam asked, looking up at the nurse.

"Oh, I used to work in a neonatal ward," she said, nonchalantly. "At Whiteman Air Force Base hospital, and then, after that, they transferred me here."

"Well, thank you for your help," Sam said, graciously.

"You're welcome." She said with a smile. "It's just nice sometimes to know that I haven't lost my touch." She handed Sam the bottle. "Here you go."

"Just put it in his mouth?"

"Put it up to his mouth, and then when he opens it, let a few drops drip onto his tongue at first. It's going to be a new experience for him, so just be patient, and you'll both get the hand of it in no time."

Sam nodded, doing as she was told. It was only a few moments before Jacob had started sucking greedily from the bottle.

"He's a natural," the nurse said with a proud smile.

"With his daddy's appetite," Sam said with a chuckle.

"Let me know if you need anything," the nurse said as she slipped out.

"Isn't he perfect?" Sam breathed as she looked up from where she was studying the baby to her husband.

"Just like his mom," Jack said, affectionately, as he walked over to her side.

"I'm not perfect," Sam blushed.

"No? Pretty darn close in my opinion," he said, seriously.

"You're sweet," she said with a faint smile.

"I aim to please," he said with a smile of his own before he bent down to kiss her lips gently. "Welcome back, Samantha Carter."

"Good to be back," she admitted before looking back at her son. "Especially since I have more than a few things that are worth sticking around for."

"Like me?" He asked, facetiously.

"No," she said with a deadpan expression. "I'd miss Teal'c far too much."

"Ack, don't even say it!" Jack laughed.

The sound of his father's loud protest startled baby Jacob away from his bottle as he looked at his father with round blue eyes.

"Sorry, little man," Jack said, affectionately touching the baby's head. "Go back to your lunch, kiddo."

The baby complied, causing Sam to chuckle softly. "Obedient little guy," she said, softly. "How did I get so lucky to have such great kids?"

"Because you're such a great mother," her husband murmured before stealing another kiss.


	66. Changes

"MOM!"

The seven-year-old's shout gave Sam just enough time to look up and brace herself as the girl flung herself into her mother's arms.

"Hello, angel," Sam murmured as she held her daughter closely.

"She missed you a lot," Cassandra said, looking over at Sam from where she and Charlie stood in the background.

"I missed her too," Sam admitted, running a hand over her daughter's hair in a loving caress. "I missed you all."

"Did you see the baby?" Grace asked, instantly. "He missed you too."

"I know he did, angel," Sam said, looking down at her daughter. "And yes, I did see him. I got to hold him and feed him too."

"Can I?"

"Not right now, but hopefully it'll be soon," Jack said, shaking his head.

"If you were able to take him out of his bassinette, that's a good sign." Cassandra said in approval.

"I told you," Grace insisted. "He missed you."

Sam gently kissed the top of her daughter's head. "I love you, Grace," she whispered, tenderly.

"I love you too, Mom," she said, hugging her mother.

Sam turned to Cassandra with a small sigh. "You didn't have to come down here," she said, softly.

"Hey, it didn't look too good there for a little while," Cassandra said, swallowing. "And I've lost too many people without being able to say goodbye…"

Sam pulled away from Grace, and gave Cassandra a warm embrace. "I love you too, Cass."

The women held each other for a few moments before pulling away.

"I should really look at flights, so I can get back to school," Cassandra said, wiping away the tears which had appeared in the corners of her eyes.

"I'll help," Charlie said, gently touching a hand to her shoulder.

She looked over at him with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

Sam turned a confused look to her husband, somewhat discreetly, and he shrugged. "Well, I've been cleared to go home. But I think I'll stay here until Jacob's ready to come home too."

Jack nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

"But you should go home," she said, looking over at Jack, seriously. "Spring Break will be over in a few days, and you've spent all of your days here at the infirmary."

"I want to stay with you, Mom," Grace said with wide eyes.

"I know, angel," Sam said, turning back to the little girl. "But maybe little Jacob will be transferred to the Academy hospital, and you can come and visit every day after school until he comes home."

"I'll talk to Dr. Montgomery and see if he has an estimate on when Jacob would be ready for that." Cassandra said from where she still stood beside Charlie. "Then, I'll head back to your house and find myself a flight back to school."

"We'd appreciate it," Sam said, nodding.

"Why don't we take Grace with us?" Charlie offered.

"That would be great," Jack said, gratefully.

"Why is it so important for you to stay here?" Jack asked as they left.

Sam swallowed. "Jack, I know he's only a few days old, but when I was holding him, I felt like…like he was….he was relieved that I hadn't really abandoned him."

"Abandoned?" Jack asked, looking at her, surprised.

"I can't explain it, Jack, but I almost...I felt like he was communicating with me on some level. And he…he seemed sad that I'd left him alone for so long."

"You didn't abandon him, Sam," Jack said, pulling her toward him.

"I know, but…how do you explain a coma to a newborn?" She asked with tearful eyes. "How do you explain that for at least a few hours," her voice hitched as her lip trembled. "I didn't even know that he existed? That I didn't know how desperately I needed him in my life?"

He kissed her forehead, tenderly, as he held her close. "Honey, I know you're worried, but when he's fifteen, he's not going to remember that you were in a coma for the first day of his life and that you had amnesia for the second day. He's going to remember that you loved him, and that you would do anything for him."

"But what about now?" Sam asked, tearfully.

"Okay, as long as it's okay with the doctor, stay. Sounds like you need it as much as he does."

She leaned up to kiss him, gently. "Thank you."

"I love you."

"I love you too." She said, honestly. "Do you really think you can handle running everything at home?"

"Yes," he said with a small chuckle. "As long as you and Jake don't take too long."

"I'll do my best to speed the process up," she said with a faintly amused smile.

"You know, why don't I stay with you for a few hours, maybe even a few days?" Jack asked, seriously.

"And leave Grace with Cassandra and Charlie while Cassandra's trying to find a flight back to Maryland?" She asked, skeptically. "Jack…"

"Fine, I won't stay overnight," Jack assured. "But…" He swallowed. "Maybe it's stupid, and maybe you'll just laugh at me, but…" He coughed, and Sam recognized his cough as the cover-up for the depth of his feelings. "I can't go until, uh, until I know it's really you. That, you know, you're really back."

"Okay," she said, nodding. "I'll stay overnight, but you'll stay with me until the end of visiting hours."

"You don't need to worry about visiting hours, General," Lam said, walking over to the couple.

Sam looked up in surprise. "What?"

"I just wanted you here for observation, and what I'm observing is that you're feeling well enough to go about business as usual. You can go home," she said, honestly.

"I was actually hoping that I could stay here until Jacob was well enough to come home." Sam said, swallowing.

"He may be here for a few more weeks," Carolyn admitted. "Either here or at the Academy hospital."

"I understand that," she said, nodding. "But…"

"It's sentimental," Lam said with an understanding nod. "While he's here, I'm sure you can stay in your quarters or in the VIP suites."

"I'll talk to Landry," Jack said, squeezing Sam's hand before he turned to leave.

"Landry?" Sam asked, surprised.

"I should get back to my patients," Lam said, turning to go.

"Jack?"

He swallowed. "Landry came as soon as the quarantine lifted." He said, soberly. "He came to remove you from command."

"Oh," she said after a moment of shock.

"But I'm sure now that you've got your memory back, and you've been cleared by Dr. Lam…"

"No," Sam said, shaking her head.

"What?" He asked, surprised.

She looked around her, clearly uncomfortable with the number of people around. "Can we take this to my quarters?" She asked, turning to him and pleading with him.

He took a moment before he nodded.

The walk to her quarters was a short one, but a tense one, as the couple walked in silence. Sam opened the door before following her husband into the room, and exhaling as she closed the door behind them.

"What do you mean "no"?" He asked, looking over at her.

"I mean, I don't want the job back," she said, calmly.

"Are you nuts?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, this is what you've been working for since I met you."

"I've changed."

"Changed." He said, skeptically.

"Jack, I almost died." She said, softly. "I gave birth to our baby, and I almost died."

"Believe me," Jack said with a sigh. "I know. I was there, remember?"

"I risked a lot to keep this job." She said, swallowing. "At any cost." She looked up at him. "And, I'm almost relieved to hear that I don't have to try to keep it anymore."

"Sam…"

"I'm not going to say it's not a shock, and I'm not going to say that I'm not disappointed," she said, honestly. "But in the grand scheme of things, I think it's the right thing for me right now. I think it's the right thing for us right now."

Jack sighed softly as he paced the room in nervous energy. "Sam…I know what you're saying, and I get where you're coming from. I mean, I've retired for family reasons a couple of times now, but…"

"Do you regret it?" She asked, softly.

He paused, looking at her in absolute surprise. "Do I regret it?" He repeated.

She nodded. "Do you regret leaving DC? Do you regret becoming a…househusband?"

"I'm not sure I'm too thrilled with the terminology," he joked, weakly, "but no. I don't regret it."

"Still, you're afraid I will."

"You've always been more ambitious than I was," he said, soberly. "You've always had something more to prove to yourself. To the world."

"I see." She whispered, thoughtfully.

"Aw, Sam, don't do this," he murmured, taking a few steps toward her.

She swallowed as tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't believe that I have to sell this idea to you," she whispered, looking away from him. "I thought you'd be happy that I'd finally chosen you over this. Chosen our family over this."

"Sam," he murmured, trying to pull her into a hug.

She shrugged it off. "I can't do this anymore, Jack. I can't walk home after a long week at work, where I haven't been able to come home because there was one disaster after another, only to find out that I've missed Jacob's first word. Or that I forgot Grace's ballet recital. Or that Charlie and Cassandra have gotten engaged…"

"Well, first of all, it'll be a while before Jacob says his first word, Grace isn't in ballet, and I don't know what happened since you got sick, but that thing between Charlie and Cassandra was news to me t…"

"I'm not being literal, Jack," she said with a sigh. She closed her eyes, inhaled, and then looked back at him. "I need you to back me up on this. I can't do this anymore, and I want to retire. Can you support me?"

"I will always support you," he assured, sitting down on the bed. "I just don't know whether this really is the best thing for us."

In a moment, she found herself kneeling on the floor in front of him, holding his hands in her own as she looked up into his worried face. "Then, trust me," she pleaded. "It's time for me to get back to physics, time to for me to really be there for my family while it's growing in all of its different ways. It's time for me to really invest time into our relationship. Where you and I can share the burdens of raising our family together. Jack, I really want this."

He took a moment to study her crystal clear blue eyes before he nodded. "Okay. I'll support you."

She broke into a smile. "Thank you," she whispered as she leaned up to kiss him.


	67. Breakthroughs

"I didn't even take my suitcase out of the car," Cassandra said, wryly, as she pulled a small bag out of the car at the O'Neill house.

Charlie offered her an appreciative smile, taking the bag from her. "You had a lot on your mind."

"Yeah," she admitted. "But now, we're back in the real world, and I'm just worried about getting back to school as quickly as possible."

"It's a legitimate concern," he said, opening the door to the house for her.

"Thank you," she said, gratefully, "But I have to admit, I don't want to go back right now. I hate to leave while everything's still in shambles."

Charlie smiled to himself before setting the bag on the floor, and turning back to her. "Cassandra," he said, taking her hands as he looked her in the eye. "I have no doubt that you would be an asset here while everyone deals with what just happened this week and during the transition after they bring Jacob home."

"But?" She asked, quietly.

He touched her cheek, affectionately. "Your place is in Baltimore, learning everything you can about being a doctor before you start your residency with the Air Force."

She looked down at the ground. "I guess this is…the last time we'll see each other outside of…you know…holidays, and family reunions."

"You don't know that," he said, tenderly.

She swallowed as she looked up. "Charlie, your life is here. My life…I don't know where my life is going to take me after I graduate, and I just…"

"Cassandra," Charlie interrupted, gently. "My life can pack up and move. I want to be a carpenter. With the right tools, I can go anywhere I want to go. And you're not necessarily going to be in the Air Force forever. If we end up working out, we'll go where your patients are. We'll go where the Air Force wants you to go. Okay?"

"What about what we said about wanting to be friends?" She whispered.

"I don't think Dad and Sam ever stopped being friends," he said, honestly. "I think we can still be friends even if we choose to have a relationship."

"No, I mean, what happens if this doesn't work out," she said, shaking her head.

"What happens if it does?" He countered.

She inhaled, nervously.

"Look, I'm scared," he admitted. "And I'm not just doing this because Grace had a dreamed that we would get married. I'm doing this because when I needed you, you were there for me. And when you needed me, you weren't afraid to lean on me." He swallowed. "And it felt good. It felt good to be needed. And more than that, it felt good to be needed by you."

She had tears slipping down her cheeks silently as she listened to him.

"Cassandra, you are a remarkable woman. You're beautiful, kind, smart, funny, and you have an endless capacity for love."

She blushed softly.

"Let me try to take care of you like you've been taking care of everyone else."

"What about what you have here?" She asked, softly. "Can we really try to make this work long-distance?"

"I hear it's hard," Charlie said, honestly. "Dad said it was one of the hardest things he'd ever done."

"But?"

"But we don't have to worry about one of us being across the galaxy or even in another galaxy."

She laughed. "No, we don't."

"And I have a feeling you'll be too busy in these last few weeks of school to be worried about dating anyone else."

She smiled. "Yeah."

"So, I think we're okay." He said with a smile. "Besides, my mom was telling me about this thing called…Skip?"

"Skype?" She returned, curiously.

"Is that the thing where you can use the internet and a computer to talk to each other?" He asked, confused.

She giggled. "Yeah."

"Then, yeah. That's what she was telling me about."

"Skype would be a good thing," she admitted.

"Are you two official yet?" Grace called from the kitchen.

Cassandra and Charlie blushed as they chuckled to themselves before Charlie looked her in the eye more soberly. "Well, Cassandra?"

She swallowed. "Yes, Grace, you can tell your parents that we're official."

"Finally!"

Cassandra tried not to laugh, and Charlie smiled. "Why don't you find yourself a flight, and I'll go see if Grace needs anything…"

"Sounds like a good idea," she admitted.

She walked toward the computer before she felt a hand reach for hers, and pull her into a tight hug. Before she knew what was happening, Charlie's lips were on hers, and she found herself melting into his passionate and protective embrace.

Finally, Charlie pulled away, and Cassandra opened her eyes. "Wow," she whispered, softly.

He tenderly brushed her bangs away from her face before he touched her chin, gently. "Go finish your degree. I'm not going anywhere."

She offered him a small kiss before she looked deeply into his eyes. "Me either."

* * *

"Who is it?" Sam called as she heard a small tap at her door.

"It's just me," Jack said, poking his head into the room, around the door.

"A welcome sight no matter where I am," she said with a small smile. "Come in."

She turned back to the laptop on the table where she was typing, clearly deep in thought, when a glass bowl filled with gelatinous blue squares was placed in front of her.

"I figured you could use some comfort food," her husband said, sitting next to her.

"Thanks," she said with a faint smile.

"What are you working on that has you so serious?" He asked, leaning toward the computer screen.

Sam managed a small sigh before she closed the laptop lid. "Just…writing some things…"

"Too personal to let your husband read?"

She looked at him for a moment before swallowing. "It's not that it's too personal…it's more like…I don't know what's actually showing up there yet. It doesn't make sense to me right now, and…I'd rather it did before I shared it."

"Come here," Jack said, taking her by the hand.

"What are we doing?" She asked, almost in protest.

"We're dancing." He said, pulling her into an intimate hold as he swayed with her.

"There's no music."

"There doesn't have to be."

She followed his lead for a few moments before exhaling in frustration. "Why are we doing this?" She demanded, pulling away.

Jack reached for her again, pulling her back into the hold patiently, but firmly. "Because we're alive. Because after everything we've been through in the last few days, we just need to hold each other and rock back and forth."

She swallowed before falling silent.

"I talked to Landry." Jack said, quietly. "He said you could stay on the base as long as Jacob is on the base."

"Thank you for talking to him," Sam said, meekly.

"I told him that you were pretty set on retirement. He said he wanted to make sure that's really what you wanted, but that if it was, he'd do his best to make it happen."

Sam released a derisive chuckle as she stopped moving. "You all must think that I'm pretty fickle around here. Can't even decide whether or not I want to retire."

Jack gently pressed her to move in time with him again, and she reluctantly complied. "Never said you were fickle," he murmured, softly. "Landry just recognizes that you've had quite the weekend. It's only natural to want to protect yourself from getting hurt again. He just wants to make sure you're not just pulling your head into your shell and giving up on life." Jack's gaze became more intent as he looked into her eyes. "And so do I."

They fell into silence again, and Sam bit the inside of her cheek. "This is silly, Jack," she said with a sigh. "We've been dancing for five minutes, there's no music, and no reason to dance."

"Then, we'll keep dancing until we find one."

"What good is that going to do?" She asked, incredulously.

"Why do we keep soldiering on in life when there doesn't seem to be a reason for it?" Jack returned.

"What does that have to do with this?" She asked, skeptically.

"Everything, Sam," he said, soberly. "It has everything to do with this. You're making some pretty big choices and requests here, and I'm willing to back you up on them as long as they're not just an attempt to give up on the life you think you should have lost."

"I don't think…"

"Yes," Jack interrupted. "I think you do."

Her eyes turned downward as Jack paused. With a tender finger, he gently touched her bruises, each one marking where one of the robotic fingers pressed against her airway. "The physical reminder of what he did to you will go away, but are you willing to let the emotional pain heal like these bruises? Or are we going to find ourselves somewhere in the next year, or ten years, or fifteen years, or twenty years, dealing with the scars that robot left on your soul?"

Sam opened her mouth to speak as tears welled up in her eyes. A moment passed before she closed her mouth, wiped at her cheeks and pulled away from her husband, turning her back to him as she slowly began to crumble again.

"What were you writing about?" Jack prodded, gently, as he walked over to where the computer sat on the table. "How terrified you were when that thing had you in its grasp? Or how you felt violated at the thought that the birth of your son, however indirectly, led to your memory loss?"

She whirled around. "I would never…" She began, passionately.

"Blame the baby?" He said, softly. "I know. But what about you? You said once before that you were being punished for allowing those memories to be stripped from you."

"That's crazy," she said, nervously. "No one can choose which memories are taken when you get amnesia."

"Not consciously," Jack pressed.

"I didn't choose to forget you!" She yelled, defensively. She looked away as she felt herself crumbling, the walls which had kept her functioning since this morning in the infirmary were breaking down all around her as her thoughts went in a thousand dizzying directions. "What were you thinking?" She asked, turning back to him, sorrowfully. "I told you I wasn't feeling up to leaving the house, and I never say anything like that if it isn't serious."

"I know," he said, realizing that they'd finally hit what had been bothering her.

"This whole thing was avoidable," she whispered. "We didn't have to come here. You could have called and rescheduled the shower. I could have told you I thought I might be in labor instead of hoping it would just…go away and that I was just being worried about nothing." She bit her lip as she closed her eyes in pain. "We could have had Jacob in the Academy hospital, we might not even have had him at all with doctors right there. I could still be pregnant, and he could be safe. Inside of me."

"I know, baby," he murmured, pulling her into his arms.

"We could lose him, Jack," she sobbed. "There are a million things that could go wrong, and…and I don't think…I don't think I can..."

"I know," he whispered, holding her tightly. "I know."

* * *

"Change of plans," Charlie said, hanging up the phone in the kitchen.

Cassandra looked up from where she and Grace were preparing dinner. "Oh?"

"Dad's going to stay with Sam tonight. Sounds like she's got a lot of stuff to deal with."

She nodded, soberly. "I was kind of expecting that."

"I told Dad when your flight is tomorrow, and he said he'll try to be here to say goodbye."

"I understand if he can't make it." She said, shaking her head.

"I told him that too."

Grace slammed the pizza dough against the counter top, the sound of her fists punching the dough sounding louder than they had all evening. Cassandra and Charlie turned to her in surprise.

"Grace?" Cassandra whispered, softly. "Honey, are you okay?"

"They don't want me anymore," Grace muttered as she continued to knead the dough with surprising force.

"What?" Cassandra said, blinking in surprise.

"They had the baby they wanted," She said, matter-of-factly. "They don't need me anymore."

"That's not true," Cassandra protested. "This is just a hard time for everyone."

"Which is why they dumped me on you two for all but a few minutes," she said, looking over at the adults. She sighed. "I'm not hungry. I'm going to bed."

"Grace," Cassandra murmured, moving as if she was going to follow the young girl.

"Let me try," Charlie said, touching his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Be my guest," she said with a small sigh.

He took his time walking toward his sister's bedroom door, trying to give her at least a little time to process. Finally, he knocked on the door. "Grace?"

"Leave me alone!"

He opened the door slightly. "I can't do that," he said, honestly. "You're family, and an O'Neill never backs down when family needs them."

"I'm not an O'Neill. I'm a Taylor."

"You can call yourself O'Neill, or you can call yourself Taylor," he said, sitting down on the bed beside where she'd flopped herself on her stomach with her face buried in a pillow. "You're still family. You can't just take that back."

She was silent.

"Hey, you're actually going to try to take away the little sister I've wanted for my whole life?"

She didn't react.

"What about baby Jacob? He's going to be pretty confused because you visited him a lot. Told him how you'd make sure that no one would hurt him. Promised to teach him things when he grew up to be big enough. Boy, would he miss you."

"No, he wouldn't," she said, rolling her eyes. "He's too little. He probably won't even remember me."

"You're the one who said he missed your mom," Charlie said, softly.

"That's different."

"How?"

"She's his mom. I'm just his sister."

"So, you think you're replaceable, then."

She swallowed.

"Never in a million years, Grace," Charlie murmured, seriously. "They might find someone who looks kind of like you, but she would never be you."

She turned an uncertain glance to him.

"They'd never find someone who liked to read the same books as you do. They'd never find someone who liked to eat pizza without any vegetables as much as you do. They'd never find someone who had all your talents and abilities because they wouldn't be looking at you, Grace."

"I miss my mom and dad," Grace finally admitted as she broke down into tears.

"I know you do," he said, hugging her tightly. "But trust me, before too long they'll be back here, taking care of you and Jacob, and the world will be a happy place again."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Cross your heart?"

"Cross my heart."

She flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Charlie."

"I love you too, little sister," he said with a hitch in his voice as he hugged her back.


	68. Healing

"You're still awake."

The statement from the left-hand side of the bed caused Sam to turn to her husband. "Yeah."

"Why?" He asked, rolling over to face her.

"It's silly."

"Probably not." He said, honestly.

"How would you know?" She asked, studying him closely.

"Because the odds are in my favor. You've only said like…three silly things in your entire life."

Without being able to help it, she smiled. "One when I was in preschool, and two when I was in Jr. High and High school."

"Yep."

She smiled for a few moments before slowly growing more serious. "What about the healing device?"

"For whom?"

"Jacob." She said, softly.

"It could work,' he said, nodding. "But I seem to recall that when you use that thing, it wears you out."

"Only when it's big stuff."

"Like my heart attack?"

She swallowed.

"And you don't think Jacob's weakness wouldn't be that big?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"But you want to try."

She nodded. "On the risk scale, it's low. I mean, we've had a lot of success with it. Even just with me."

"With one exception."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "But Dad said that it was working. You're the one who told him to stop, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Jack said, soberly.

"Jack," she said, softly. "Tell me that if Dad wasn't alive, we wouldn't have asked him first? Before the medical pod? Before they called some neonatal specialist?"

"We probably would have," he admitted.

"So," she murmured, pensively.

"So, I guess we're going to try it." He said with a supportive smile as he reached out and ran his fingers through her hair. "But only on one condition."

She raised an eyebrow as if to ask what the condition was.

"You get some rest. Tomorrow will be a big day for you."

She watched him roll over with a small sigh. She knew she was right beside him in the bed, but for the last six months, between the limitations put on them by his heart attack and her high-risk pregnancy, it had felt like they were across the galaxy from each other. "Good night, Jack," she murmured as she turned to the other side of the bed and prepared to sleep.

* * *

"If I understand the technology correctly," Dr. Montgomery said, thinking. "I don't see why you can't give it a shot."

Sam smiled. "Good."

"Are you sure we shouldn't call the Tok'ra?" Carolyn asked, worriedly. "I mean, I know I cleared you to go home, but I'm still not sure you're up to this."

Sam swallowed. "Let me at least do the analysis. That's nothing. It's once we actually get into the healing that it can get tricky if you don't have a symbiote."

"And you'll have a better idea if you can do it once you do the analysis?" Montgomery asked, soberly.

Sam nodded. "Yes."

"Well, I've already put a call into the Tok'ra," Mitchell said, soberly. He turned to Sam. "No offense."

"None taken." She said, shaking her head.

"I talked to Charlie last night," Jack said, looking over at his wife. "Apparently, Cassie got a ticket to leave at noon today. That'll get her home in time to get a good night's sleep before class tomorrow morning."

"Good. She should be getting back to her studies," Sam agreed.

"Uh, she and Charlie came to an understanding last night," Jack said as the group dissolved.

She raised an eyebrow. "What kind of understanding?"

"Apparently, they're going to do the long distance thing."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "That's not an easy thing to do."

"But if it's the right person, it's worth it," he finished.

"Exactly." She said with a tired smile.

"You didn't sleep well last night, did you?"

"I slept just fine." She said, shaking her head.

"Then, something's bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me." She said, shaking her head. "I'm just ready to go back home and get into the groove of a routine."

He studied her for a few moments. "You sure?"

"Jack, please," she sighed. "Let's just focus on the task at hand."

"What task?" He asked, soberly. "We're just waiting for Dr. Lam and Dr. Montgomery to come to an official decision about whether or not they're willing to let you go through with this, and if they say no, we're waiting to hear back from the Tok'ra. We don't have a job to do right now."

She swallowed.

"Sam?"

"Let's go see how Jacob's doing," she said, ignoring his attempts to press her into answering.

"We were just in there. He's sleeping." He said, catching her by the elbow. "What are you trying to avoid?"

She bit her lip as if she was about to spill before she looked down to find that she was wearing the BDUs she'd avoided for so long, that were currently hugging every curve that she wasn't sure she was too proud of. She shook her head. "Maybe I will lie down. I guess I didn't sleep as soundly as I thought I had."

"Fine, I'll come back with you. Maybe there, you'll tell me what's going on."

She opened her mouth to protest before she nodded. "Come on."

Jack's brow furrowed, worriedly, as he followed her. He walked into the VIP quarters they'd shared the night before, and turned to face her. "Sam, you're worrying me. What's going on?"

She swallowed. "I'm…I'm not sure how to say this."

"Say what?"

She bit her bottom lip, looking almost ill before she finally exhaled. "This isn't working."

"Excuse me?"

"I know this isn't exactly the right time, but…there's something missing here."

"Okay," Jack said with a furrowed brow as he sat down on the bed in surprise.

"Look, when we were a galaxy apart, it hurt. It was pure and unadulterated torture, but when we were together, we were really together."

"We're together now," Jack said, confused. "And we've been together for a while now."

She bit her lip. "Not…really…together. At least, not since just before your heart attack."

"Oh." He said with sudden understanding.

"And it's almost…awkward to talk about it."

"Why?"

She laughed desperately. "I don't know, but last night when I said good night, I just…I wanted to beg you to turn around and face me."

"Shoulda said something."

"I never had to before."

"This is part of the adjustment of having a heart attack and a high-risk pregnancy, Sam," he said, shrugging. "I just…I guess I kind of learned to ignore that voice in my head."

"The voice in your head," she said, shaking her head with a small, but derisive, chortle. "You mean the one that says you don't want to have to touch that fat lady you married?"

"You wanna fill me in on what YOUR little voice is telling you?" He said, studying her.

She blushed. "Well, let's just say that the last time I wore these BDUs, they didn't fit me the same way. They were…looser in some places."

"You just had a baby."

"Yes, I know," she said, swallowing. "But…my body's different, and…well, we've exchanged some pretty chaste kisses since I "got my figure back", so to speak. Anyway, I guess, I'm just wondering if you're even remotely interested."

Jack's face was serious for a few moments, and Sam felt her heart pound in her ears, nervously. "On second thought, I don't think I want to know." She said as she blushed deeply in embarrassment, preparing to turn and leave the room.

Before she could even have another thought, Jack's hands were on her face, and his lips were pressed against her own in one of the most passionate kisses she could ever remember between the two of them. The cold metal of Jack's wedding band almost burned into the warmth of the flush of her cheek as she returned the kiss with all the fierceness she'd forgotten she had within her.

When he finally allowed her to break for air, they were both heaving breathlessly. "Just so you know," Jack managed. "When we were serving together, I had to shut down that little voice in my head more than a few times. And, I wondered if there would ever be a time that you looked better in those rags the Air Force made you wear."

"Then?" She asked, looking up at him, swallowing.

"And then, you put them on today." He said with a grin.

She smiled, clearly pleased with the compliment.

He touched her cheek, tenderly. "I didn't want to push you into something you weren't ready for. Even if your body's as close to being normal as it's going to get, I didn't want to push you mentally or emotionally."

"It's nice to know it wasn't just me," she said with a coy smile.

He laughed as he offered her another kiss. "I love you, Samantha Carter. And it doesn't matter how your body changes, you'll always be the most beautiful woman to me."

"Jack," she blushed.

"Feeling better?" He whispered in her ear, allowing his breath to tickle the sensitive parts of her skin.

She swallowed as she looked into his eyes with a tender smile on her lips. "Much. But I expect more than just a passionate kiss once we know for sure that Jacob's all right."

"You got it, Carter," he said with a promising gleam in his eye that sent shivers down her spine.

* * *

"General Carter, General O'Neill, I'd like to introduce you to Mal'tak, the Tok'ra representative who responded to our message." Mitchell said as the generals walked into the briefing room.

"It is an honor to be in the presence of Jacob Carter's daughter and her husband," Mal'tak, a short, bald-headed Tok'ra said, as he bowed momentarily in front of the couple.

"Mal'tak," Sam said, graciously. "Thanks for answering our message. What do you have for us?"

"We are trying to limit our interference on these matters while we try to rebuild after the centuries of death that have weakened our ranks, but given your special relationship to Selmak, and the fact that you did once serve as the host for the revered Jolinar of Malkshur, we have chosen to make an exception."

"Thank you." Sam said, gratefully.

"We also have reason to believe that your child is to be a great leader one day."

Sam looked at her husband in surprise.

"The Asgard made us aware of the significance of a child who had the Ancient gene and naquadah in his blood as well."

"Significance?" Sam asked, swallowing.

"In the evolution of the Tau'ri race," he said, nodding. "And it would be in our best interest as well as your own for us to help you."

"Just what are you going to want in return?" Jack asked, instantly.

"Jack," Sam chastised, quietly.

"No, if they have a vested interest in our son's welfare, I think we deserve at least an outline of what that looks like."

"General O'Neill," Mal'tak said, turning to the other man, his voice morphing into the normal sound of the human. "Perhaps I can be of assistance?"

"And you are?" Jack asked, sharply.

"I am Bevouack, but you may call me Bev."

"Thank you, Bev," Sam said, playing the diplomat. "What exactly did your symbiote mean when he was talking about our son?"

"Our communication with the Asgard was limited, but when we did speak to them, they were quite adamant that the blending of the protein markers left in a host body after the death of a symbiote and the gene passed to your race by the Ancients would result in extraordinary talents. Talents that this galaxy will require if it is to fully recover from the hold that the goa'uld, Ori, and now, the Titans, have kept upon it."

Sam's lips parted in surprise.

"Why wouldn't they tell us about this?" Jack asked with a furrowed brow.

"I think Thor tried," Sam said, quietly.

He looked at her. "Excuse me?"

"Do you remember when I came home from that mission?"

"Vaguely. You said something about sixty years on duty and…then, you said Thor had something he wanted to tell us…"

"In case we ever decided to have children," she said, nodding.

"Come on, Sam, this can't be the first time this has ever happened. Someone who used to be a host has a baby with someone who possesses the Ancient gene."

"You're probably right," she admitted. "But you are the only person who's had the Ancient repository downloaded into your brain twice and lived to tell the tale both times."

"Thanks to the Asgard who took all that stuff out."

"Still, Jack, the second time that happened, everything happened at a more accelerated rate. Some of the changes had to have been irreversible for that to happen."

"So, I'm going to start speaking an alien language I've never heard before?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Probably not unless you put your head back into one of the repositories."

"But…"

"But you may be the closest we have to an Ancient…besides Daniel now."

"Hey, what about Daniel and Vala's baby?" Jack asked, suddenly.

"Dr. Jackson doesn't have the Ancient gene, and from the amniocentesis we ran a few months ago, neither does the baby," Lam said, shaking her head.

"Oh." Jack said, swallowing. "So, Jacob does?"

Lam nodded. "And naquadah in his blood."

"So, what did Thor say?"

"I don't know," Sam said, shaking her head. "We were barely engaged at that point, and I still wasn't sure you wanted kids. By the time I was thinking about pulling it out and listening to it, we had the miscarriage, and then…we moved."

"So, we could have been clued into this whole thing if we'd just checked our messages?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"In a manner of speaking," she said, nodding. "But, for all I know, Thor had more things on there. It would still be a good idea to find that communication stone."

"When we get home," Jack said, nodding. "I agree."

"We have no requests," Mal'tak assured. "Only that your son is given the best medical treatment from Earth physicians and Tok'ra healers, if necessary, so that he might one day live to fulfill his destiny."

"You want to be his pediatric team?" Jack asked, skeptically.

"If Jacob is this important, it might not be a bad idea to keep them on hand," Sam said, soberly.

"Yeah, but…"

"You and I can keep him safe from a lot of things, Jack, but if he's the only one who has this…combination, this could really affect his ability to have "normal" doctors."

"True." Jack admitted. He took a moment to breathe before he looked at the Tok'ra. "Okay, okay, do your stuff."

* * *

"He is very sick," the symbiote said, having completed a scan of the baby's body.

"He was born prematurely," Sam said, softly. "Under some…unusual circumstances."

"Can you help him?" Jack asked from where he stood beside his wife.

"I believe so." Mal'tak said, nodding.

Sam released a sigh of relief, surprised that she'd held the tension in her chest for so long without realizing it.

"What can we do to help?" Jack asked, earnestly.

"Be silent," the symbiote commanded before he closed his eyes and held the healing device over the child.

Sam closed her eyes, her hands folded as she prayed silently.

Jack watched, vigilantly, as the moments ticked on and on.

Finally, the baby wailed more loudly than he'd ever cried before, catching his mother's attention instantly. "Jacob, honey, we're right here," she murmured, soothingly.

The Tok'ra opened his eyes before he smiled. Lam noticed the look. "We need to run some tests before we can say anything for sure," she said, retrieving her stethoscope instantly.

Sam nodded. "Of course."

"Dr. Montgomery?"

The aged doctor stepped up behind her. "Yes, Doctor?"

"I'm not hearing any of the same signs I heard of heart defect."

The specialist took the stethoscope from Lam's outstretched hand so that he could make his own assessment. "It's a miracle," he said in awe. "I'm not even hearing the same things we heard in his lungs."

Sam sighed in relief as she turned to her husband, who smiled softly. "Thank God," he said, honestly, winning a grateful smile from his wife as she hugged him tightly.

"I'd like to keep him overnight for observation, but assuming he keeps sounding good, I don't see why he can't go home with you tomorrow or the next day."

"Thank you, Dr. Montgomery," Sam said, overcome with tears of gratitude.

"I didn't do anything but give him a chance to be here for this," the doctor said, shaking his head. "He did the rest."

Sam blinked away tears as she nodded in acknowledgment.

"Would you like to hold him before we go and do our tests?" Lam asked, turning to the couple.

"Please," Jack said, nodding.

He turned to his wife who shook her head. "I got to hold him earlier. Your turn."

He swallowed before he nodded, and walked up to pick up his son. "Hey there, little fella," he murmured as he gently bounced the crying baby. "It's okay. Your mama's right here."

Sam looked over her husband's shoulder with a tender smile. "My sweet baby boy," she whispered, gliding a finger down the newborn's face.

The crying slowly abated, and Sam nodded. "That's right," she cooed. "There you are. You're safe. Daddy's got you. Now, the nice doctors are going to take a look at you and make sure you're nice and healthy. Yes, they are."

One of the nurses came over, arms outstretched to take the baby. He fussed instantly, and Jack looked over at him. "Hey, we're not going anywhere. It's all right. You're okay."

The fussing quieted slightly, and Sam nodded to the nurse, who gently cooed to the baby as she left.

"He's going to be all right," Sam said, feeling peaceful for the first time all weekend.

"Seems like it," Jack agreed.

She released another sigh filled with relief as Jack wrapped his arms around her and offered her a celebratory hug. "He's going to be okay," she whispered again.

"Just like his mom," Jack said, kissing her forehead.


	69. Coming and Going

"I wish you didn't have to go," Grace said, looking up at Cassandra as they got out of the car at the airport.

"So do I," Cassandra admitted as she bent down and kissed the top of Grace's head. "I'll miss you, kiddo."

"Me too."

"Take care of that baby brother of yours," Cassandra said with a warm smile.

"I will." Grace promised, solemnly.

Cassandra sighed softly as she turned back to Charlie. "You take care of yourself, okay?"

"Sure thing," he said with an affectionate smile. "As long as you promise to do the same."

"I will." She said, nodding soberly.

"Hey, it's just Baltimore," Charlie comforted. "And it's only for a few more months."

"Until I get a call, and the Air Force sends me to Sommalia."

"How about this?" Charlie said, gently brushing her hair from her face. "If the Air Force sends you to Sommalia, I'll come with you, okay? In fact, if you're not in the continental United States, I'll go with you."

She smiled softly. "Okay."

"Assuming I can get a visa or whatever I'd need to go there," he said, wryly.

She gently smacked his arm, though the look on her face was far from an angry one.

He sobered, looking into her eyes as he tried to memorize her features. "I'm going to miss you, Cassandra Fraiser."

"I'm going to miss you too," she whispered, softly. "You've really helped me these last few days."

"You've helped me too," he said, seriously.

"Maybe you can come out for a visit some time before graduation," she said, reaching for her suitcase.

"Maybe I can," he agreed.

"We should probably go on at least one proper date before you move to Sommalia with me," she teased.

He grinned, appreciatively, "Yeah." He leaned in and tenderly kissed her lips. "Call me when you land, okay?"

"I will," she said, nodding as they leaned their foreheads together for a few moments. She pulled back, and readjusted her purse which had begun slipping off her shoulder. "Well, here I go," she said, forcing a smile to her lips.

"I love you, Cassie!" Grace announced, hugging her legs tightly. "Be safe."

"I love you too, Grace," Cassandra said, returning the awkward hug as well as she could.

"Be safe," Charlie echoed.

"You too," Cassandra said, leaning in for one more kiss. "Give everyone my love when you get back."

"Will do."

She waved before she turned toward the airport, and disappeared through its doors.

"I wish we could go in," Grace murmured with a sigh.

"Cheer up, kiddo," Charlie said, patting her shoulder. "We'll get home, call your mom, and order a pizza. How about that?"

"Without veggies?"

"No veggies." He said, nodding. "But you have to eat a salad."

"Deal." She grinned.

* * *

"Your son's test results are far above where they were when we started working with him," Dr. Montgomery said, looking at both Sam and Jack. "So far above, in fact, that I'm not sure it will be necessary to keep him overnight for observation."

Sam's eyes widened before she exchanged a hopeful look with her husband.

"Now, I will stay in Colorado Springs for the next few days in case we missed something, so please…don't hesitate to bring him in."

"We won't," Sam said, shaking her head.

"Take him home," the doctor encouraged.

"Yes, sir." Jack said with a grin.

"Before you do that, Jack," Daniel interrupted from behind them.

The O'Neills turned in surprise.

"We have a few things for you and Jacob," he said with a small smile. "So, if you'll follow me?"

They walked down the corridor toward one of the small recreation rooms.

"SURPRISE!"

The loud cry caught the couple by surprise, and they jumped inadvertently before smiling at the sight of their friends.

"Since you didn't ever come to the shower, we figured we'd try again." Daniel laughed.

"Thank you, Daniel," Sam said, hugging her friend, tightly.

"Well, if you're going to take little Jacob home today, we couldn't exactly let you leave without this," Daniel said, motioning behind the couple to where Teal'c revealed a stroller/baby carrier/carseat combo.

Sam pressed her hands together and then to her lips in surprise.

"Wow, Danny."

"It was my idea." Vala said, pushing her way to the front of the room.

Sam walked over and hugged the other woman tightly. "Thank you." She said, gratefully.

"You're very welcome, Samantha," Vala assured.

"Did you bring the baby?" One of the female gate technicians asked from the back of the crowd.

"No," Sam said, shaking her head, apologetically. "He's still in the infirmary, and we're taking him home just as soon as we can."

"I'll bet Grace will be eager to have him home," one of the nurses said with a smile as she remembered the care the little girl had shown to her newborn brother. "She didn't want to leave his side while she was here."

Sam turned to Jack as if looking for confirmation, and he nodded. "Dr. Lam told me that she sang to him so that he wouldn't be scared or lonely."

"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?" Sam asked, with a soft smile.

Jack nodded.

"We got really lucky with her," Sam said, proudly. "She's going to be such a wonderful older sister."

"Assuming she doesn't get jealous of the baby," one of the other women piped up. "My oldest son was a terror when we brought his younger sister home from the hospital. He would come up and hit the baby for no reason. We couldn't figure it out until a child psychologist friend of mine saw it, and said that it was jealousy."

"Yeah, it's hard to make everyone feel loved when you've got to take care of a newborn," one of the gate techs agreed. "And it's even harder to realize that you've neglected one of the other kids when you were up with a colicky baby all night long."

Sam's smile was waning slowly, and Jack gently touched her back to comfort her. "I have just the trick for that," he murmured, supportively.

"Good," she breathed, clearly relieved. "What is it?"

"I'll tell you more about it when we're in the car."

"It's amazing how different the infirmary is when we have a baby there," the conversation continued. "I've seen more smiles on the faces of injured airmen in the last few days than I've seen almost since I started here."

"Oh, that was nothing!" One of the other nurses cried. "About six years ago, we had a bunch of refugees pass through the infirmary before they were relocated to another homeworld. There were three babies without mothers, and they were passed from airman to airman until it was time for the relocation. I don't think those babies had ever felt more loved!"

"It's so remarkable to see these men and women who have seen so much hold the babies that come through," another nurse said, nodding. "Almost always, they're so gentle with these babies and kids that it's hard to think about what they have to do to protect us."

"I think we have cake here in the back," Vala announced, interrupting.

The crowd scattered, and Sam managed a small sigh of relief.

"Walter sent the majority of the gifts to your home," Vala said, turning to her friend. "But we figured you'd like to keep the carseat at least until you took Jacob home."

"Thank you," Sam said, gratefully.

"You're welcome, Samantha," Vala said with a small smile.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked, studying her friend closely.

"I feel enormous," Vala said with a tired chuckle. "But right now, I'm just glad to be here, and to be alive."

Sam nodded before offering the other woman another hug. "I couldn't imagine having to deal with that robot while I was pregnant at the same time."

"Well, maybe it was just what I needed," Vala said, swallowing. "For the first time since I got pregnant, I actually wanted my baby to be okay."

Sam swallowed, knowing how deeply the scars Adria left on her mother's heart ran.

Vala inhaled, trying to shove her emotions from the surface. "You should take Jacob home. It would do you all some good to be together as a family."

Sam nodded. "Thanks for the party."

"You're welcome, Samantha," Vala said with a small, though somewhat sad, smile.

"Let me know if you need anything," Sam said, offering the woman one more hug before she left.

"I will."

Sam turned back to her husband. "Let's go home."

"I was just waiting for you to say the words," he said with a grin.

* * *

"Doesn't look like Dad's back yet," Charlie said as they pulled into the O'Neill driveway.

"Figures," Grace murmured from the backseat.

Charlie watched the girl through the rearview mirror for a moment before he stopped the car. He turned the motor off before he turned back to look at her. "It's hard, isn't it?" He asked as she let her gaze fall to the floor and played with her fingers. "Change is hard."

She nodded, almost imperceptibly.

"And as a big sister, you're concerned. You're worried that your mom and dad might not love you as much as they love little Jacob. And you're worried about Jacob. Right?"

He won another hesitant nod like the first.

"Do you think when I came back that Dad loved me any less than he did before because he'd started to love you?"

She looked up at him with a perplexed look on her face before she shook her head.

"You know what?" Charlie asked with a gentle smile. "He actually loved me more. He'd loved you so much and you'd given him so much love back that by the time I got back, there was more love for all of us."

The seven-year-old grew thoughtful.

"Jacob's not going to take any love from this family," Charlie said, softly. "He's just going to add more love to this family."

"But he's so little," she finally managed.

"Yep. And he's going to need your mom and dad's attention a lot." Charlie said, nodding. "But you can help your mom and dad take care of him. And they're going to know that you need them too, so maybe some time after Jacob goes to bed, your mom will come in and read a story with you. Or maybe you can help Dad make dinner while Sam's taking care of Jacob."

Grace nodded, silently.

"And if you still need a buddy, give me a call." Charlie said with a grin.

Grace couldn't help but return his smile.

"Come on, I think we have a house that's calling our name…and a dog that needs to be played with."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Sam asked from where she sat in the backseat, keeping an eye on Jacob.

"Just a couple stops on our way home."

"What kind of stops?"

"You know how I told you I had an idea to handle the possibility of Grace being jealous of Jacob?"

"Yes."

"Sara's sister had like…three kids while we were still married, and one of the things they started doing was that they would choose gifts that the new addition could bring back to his or her older siblings."

"Bribery?" Sam asked, somewhat amused.

Jack chuckled. "I never appreciated what an art it was until I became a parent."

Sam grinned. "Sounds good to me."

"Of course, Grace is going to suspect something if we don't bring things back for Charlie and Doc too…"

"I guess we have to stop more than once," she said, catching the spirit of the idea.

"Exactly." He smiled. "How's the little guy?"

"Still sleeping," Sam said, almost in awe, as she looked down at the baby beside her.

"Good. That's what they do at this age."

"So I hear," she said with a smile as she looked back up at her husband.

"Except, of course, in the middle of the night," Jack said, making a face.

She grinned widely in amusement. "Yes…I heard that too. But that's not going to be a problem for me."

"Oh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope. I'm the one who used to thrive on all-nighters, remember?" She teased. "You're the one who always insisted on a full eight hours."

"Well, it's not easy to look this beautiful," he returned with a teasing gleam in his eye.

Sam giggled softly to herself.

"Where to for Grace?"

"Bookstore." Sam said without preamble. "She's been after me to let her read the Sisters Grimm books. I figured we could get a couple of them for her."

"Excellent." Jack said, pulling into the Barnes and Noble parking lot. "And Charlie?"

"Your turn." Sam said as they pulled into a parking space.

"D'oh!" Jack said, turning off the car and hopping out of the front seat. He opened her door as she unbuckled the infant car seat. "I guess I'll have to do some thinking while we're in there then."

"Sounds good." Sam said with a small smile.

* * *

"Dad's home!" Grace announced as she saw the SUV pull into the driveway.

"Awesome!"

She turned back to the window, surprised to see her dad hurrying around to one of the other doors. "He brought someone with him."

"Maybe it's your mom." Charlie said, coming into the living room with her as he looked out the window.

Grace shook her head. "She said she wanted to stay with Jacob."

"Maybe she changed her mind," Charlie said, shrugging.

Jack pulled the carseat from the backseat, and Grace's eyes widened.

"Looks like she's staying with Jacob after all," Charlie said as a small smile grew on his face.

"But I thought he was too sick to come home!" Grace said, turning wide eyes to her older brother.

"Maybe he got better faster than they thought."

"Anyone home?" Jack called as he opened the door.

"We are!" Grace called, hurrying toward the sound of her father's voice.

"So you are," Jack said, setting the baby down as Sam walked in the door with a few parcels and bags in her arms. Jack helped her put everything down before Grace hurried toward her, flinging her arms around her waist. "Mommy!"

"Angel," Sam murmured, hugging her daughter, tightly.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on her, Charlie," Jack said, picking the carseat back up and heading toward the living room.

"Hey, she's a sweet kid. No need to thank me." Charlie said with a grin. He looked down at the baby in the carseat. "I thought Jacob was going to have to stay in the hospital for a while longer."

"Miracles happen," Sam said with a serene smile as she sat down on the couch, pulling Grace to sit down beside her as well.

"Especially in our line of work," Jack agreed.

"He's so little," Grace murmured, looking at the baby.

"Do you want to hold him?" Sam asked, looking over at her daughter.

"Can I?"

Sam nodded. She reached down and unbuckled Jacob from the carseat, carefully pulling him from it. He released a small whimper, and Sam pulled him to her chest for a moment. "Sh," she murmured. "You're all right. You're all right. This is your big sister. Your wonderful big sister, Grace." The baby quieted a little, and Sam gently placed him in Grace's arms. "Careful. Watch his head," she murmured.

"Is this right?"

Sam nodded. "Yep," she said with approval. "Good job."

"Welcome home, baby brother," Grace said, softly, before she bent her head and kissed his forehead.

"He brought something for you," Jack said with a smile.

"Really?" Grace asked, eyes open wide.

"Yep." Sam said, nodding. "He wanted to let you know how excited he is to be a member of the family, and how glad he is to be your baby brother."

Jack offered a small bag to his daughter. "Here."

"Let me take the baby," Sam said, reaching for Jacob so that Grace could open the gift.

"Okay," she said, nodding.

She accepted the gift bag from her father, and quickly retrieved the books inside. "The Sisters Grimm!"

"He must have heard us talking about that while he was still in my tummy," Sam said with a grin.

Grace grinned before turning to her brother. "Thank you, Jacob."

She kissed his forehead again.

"We got this for Doc," Jack said, offering his daughter a new doggie food dish.

"He'll love it!"

"We sure thought so," Sam said with a smile.

"And we got this for you," Jack said, offering Charlie a large book.

"What is it?" Charlie asked, his brow furrowing.

"_Carpentry for Dummies_," Jack said with a grin. "Not that you're a dummy, but…"

"Thanks, Dad." Charlie laughed.

The doorbell rang. "Oh, we ordered pizza." Charlie said, looking at his dad.

"Don't worry, I'll get it," Jack laughed, walking toward the door.

"Let's watch a movie too." Sam suggested, pleased with the idea of a pizza-movie night to celebrate their homecoming.

"Cars!" Grace announced.

"Cars?" Sam asked, surprised.

"It's my favorite."

"I thought Enchanted was your favorite."

"That was last week, Sam," Charlie said with a teasing smile.

"Oh," Sam said with a smile. "Well, then…Cars it is…"

"Did someone mention my favorite movie?" Jack asked, walking in with the pizza.

"It's your daughter's favorite now too." Sam informed him.

"Of course, it is. She has good taste," he said, matter-of-factly.

"Before this gets mushy," Charlie said, noticing the tender smiles passing between the couple. "Let's dish out the pizza and start the movie, okay?"

"Yeah!" Grace said, enthusiastically.

"Sounds like a plan," Sam said with a smile, only grateful that they were all together again.


	70. Settling Down

Sam rocked back and forth, content to simply hold her baby, humming gently, as Jack walked into the room. "So, Charlie just left to go home."

"Oh, I wanted to say thank you," Sam murmured, softly.

"I already did." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "How's the munchkin?"

"Sleeping," Sam said, looking back down at the infant in her arms. "He ate so well, and drifted off there at the end." She shrugged, looking up at her husband with a small, but sheepish, smile. "And then, I just decided to hold him."

"Your prerogative, Mom," he said with a proud smile.

She blushed, softly. "Is Grace in bed?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Yep. I told her you would go in and give her a kiss before you turn in."

She nodded, standing.

"Let me get him in bed," Jack said, reaching for the baby.

"It's okay, I've got him," Sam said, shaking her head.

"I know," Jack said, stepping back instantly. "I just thought…"

"I can put him to bed, Jack," Sam murmured somewhat defensively, looking back at him as she walked to the bassinet.

"I know you can," he said, seriously. "But so can I, and I think Grace would like to see you before she's too asleep to know you came."

"It's not going to take me that long," she said, turning a pointed look his direction.

"The kid's asleep. He's not going to know whether you put him to bed or not."

"I know that," Sam protested as she set the baby in the basket. "But I want to do it."

Jack sighed. "I'm not fighting you about this."

"Good." Sam said, turning back to him. "Because I'm still not exactly sure why you were."

"You tend to believe that no one can take care of the kids as well as you can." He said, honestly.

"Name one time that I've ever said that."

"Oh, you've never said it," he admitted. "But you imply it fairly often."

"Oh, really?"

He nodded.

"When?"

"The first time? When Cassandra came."

"I think you're mistaken," she said, shaking her head. "Cassandra was the one who didn't want anything to do with anyone but me. And when she had changed her mind, I sent her to Janet."

"Oh? Then who was it that went to Vegas when she was in that wreck?" He asked, mockingly searching his memory. "Oh, wait…" He said, turning back to her. "That was you."

"You bought the plane ticket."

"You stayed for two weeks and RESIGNED!"

"You came to visit every weekend."

"To make sure you didn't smother the girl."

Sam exhaled. "She doesn't count. You said "the kids". I assume that's Grace and Jacob, and no normal person could conclude…"

"When Grace was missing last year. You couldn't stop long enough to eat a sandwich."

"I didn't eat the sandwich because, although I didn't know it at the time, I was experiencing morning sickness," she muttered, trying to keep her cool.

"You couldn't stop for two seconds to do anything for yourself," he challenged. "Because you were too afraid we'd screw it up."

"I did have a few other things on my mind," she snapped. "Like praying that you and Pete wouldn't have some "I'm a bigger man than you" contest when you were supposed to be finding Grace."

"It was awkward," her husband admitted. "But I wasn't about to lose focus like that – not with my daughter lost and scared like she was. And I think it's about time you recognized that."

"You're doing a good job of losing focus on the fact that our son just fell asleep and our daughter wants me to kiss her good night," she threw back venomously.

Jack sank down into the bed with a sigh. "I know you just went through the kind of ordeal that I don't think anyone could make up even if they tried. And I'm sure you're just looking for some sort of control in your life. But you're not in this alone. And as long as I'm here, you won't be." He looked back at her, catching her eye with a sober gaze. "Unless you keep strong-arming me out of this, and insisting that you can do it yourself. We're both too old to play that game."

With a trembling hand, Sam opened the bedroom door. "I'm going to say good night to Grace." She mumbled, almost too softly to hear.

* * *

Sam sat on the small section of roof that Jack had specifically set aside for astronomical observation, her arms wrapped around her knees as she folded herself into a small ball. Suddenly, she felt a blanket make its way around her shoulders as the familiar sound of an open radio channel grew louder in her ear. Finally, Jack sat beside her. "Didn't realize we'd be using this so soon," he murmured, staring at the baby monitor he held in one hand.

She just pulled the blanket more closely around her as she turned the other direction to wipe her tears away from him.

"Hey," he chastised, gently.

"If I wanted company, I would have sent you an invitation," she managed, thickly.

"Sam," he murmured. "Look at me."

She quickly shot a glance in his direction before she turned away again.

"It's his first night home," he sighed softly. "I should have given you some time to enjoy your baby, and let bygones be bygones for a few days…or weeks."

"He's your baby too," she whispered after a moment. "You shouldn't have to let bygones be bygones."

"That's part of the transition," he said, dismissively. "It happens to everyone."

She was silent, and Jack turned back to her. "Sam, what's wrong? I mean, besides the fact that I was horrible down there?"

"You weren't horrible, Jack," she said, turning a sad eye to him. "What you said made perfect sense. I have to control every aspect of these kids' lives, and I can't even let you help me. I'm a terrible wife which makes me a horrible mother."

"I never said that," Jack said, his voice firm.

"You didn't have to," she said, vulnerably. "Any person of average intelligence can see that it's true."

"Now, hold on," Jack said, forcing her to look at him. "That wasn't what I was trying to say, Sam. What I was trying to say was that if you don't let me help out more than just a little bit at a time, you're going to crash and burn. And that wouldn't be good for any of us."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't remember much about my mother," she whispered. "I mean, I remember getting my toenails painted and getting my hair done. I remember that when Dad was deployed, she had to be everything for us – mother, father, nurse, chauffeur, cook, teacher…" She swallowed as she tried to bury her feelings further into herself, but it was of little use. The emotional eruption had begun, and it would follow through to its finish. "When she died, my dad did the same thing. He took a cooking class, he took a desk job so that he could be relatively certain he'd stay here at home…I never really saw them work as a team. When Mom was alive, and Dad was home, we just…celebrated…until Dad left again, and Mom had to pick up the pieces of our routine. When Dad was finally a part of the routine, Mom had been gone for over a year."

She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "It's easier with Grace. She doesn't depend on us for everything – she never did. But Jacob…he's so small, and he was so sick, and we waited so long to have him…I'm just scared that I'll do something that will hold him back for the rest of his life. That somehow, I'll be gone for that first word, or I'll facilitate him never taking his first step."

"You're a much better mother than that," Jack said, supportively.

"I can't even let you hold him for a minute longer than it takes me to get out of the car," she burst with a sudden sob.

He pulled her into an embrace. "You're not alone, Sam," he whispered. "I'm here. We'll figure this thing out together, okay? But it will probably take longer than the first few hours that he's here. And we'll probably keep figuring this thing out for the rest of the kid's life, so…no pressure, okay?"

She pulled away slightly before nodding. "Okay."

"Now, let's go back in the house, we'll go downstairs, put on some Norah Jones, and I'll give you a proper welcome home, okay?"

She rested her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart and looking up at the sky above them. "I just want to lay here beside you, Jack," she whispered, softly, "Hearing your heartbeat, feeling the strength of your arms around me…"

"You've got it," Jack said, kissing the top of her head. "For the rest of my life and forever."

"This retirement thing's probably going to take some time to get used to," she mused after a moment.

"Yep." Jack agreed. "But fortunately, you have a pretty experienced teacher."

She giggled, softly, as she looked up at him.

"What?" He asked with a mockingly incensed frown.

"You ought to be experienced in retirement," she teased. "You've only done it, what? Three times?"

"At least," he groaned playfully. "But I'm hopeful yours will stick."


	71. Family Vacation

_Two months later:_

Jack stepped into the cluttered master bedroom, sighing softly as he looked at the mess of suitcases and clothes and diapers and snacks that he would have to climb over before he finally made it to his side of the bed on the other side of the bedroom from where he stood. "Why in the world do we need all this stuff?" He grumbled, stepping over piles of toys, books and clean laundry as he made his way across the room.

"Jack?" Sam called from the bathroom. "Is that you?"

"Yeah."

"Did you get Grace's toothbrush like I asked?"

He held up a pink, plastic Disney princess toothbrush as his wife poked her head out of the master bathroom. Her face lit up instantly. "Thank you," she said, taking it out of his hand.

"No problem," he sighed, as he cautiously studied the ground before taking each step.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked as she returned to her task in the bathroom.

"No," he said, shaking his head, sarcastically. "I love living in chaos."

Almost as if on cue, Jacob began whimpering in his pale blue and brown Moses-style bassinette.

"Jack," Sam called.

"I got him," Jack returned as he managed to navigate his way to the bassinette. "Come here, little guy," Jack murmured as he lifted the two-month-old out of the infant-sized bed.

The baby continued to cry, and Jack gently bounced him in his arms. "Your mom's right here. Just let Daddy get over these mountains of supplies that your mommy thinks she needs for our trip to DC tomorrow." He looked up to where his wife was in the bathroom. "Sam, honey, I think he wants you."

"Just a minute, Jack. I'm almost done." She called back.

Jacob cried harder, and Sam hurried out of the bathroom with a large cosmetic bag in one hand and a stick of deodorant in the other. "I'm here, baby, I'm here," she soothed, dumping the bag and cosmetics onto the bed before she reached for the crying infant in her husband's arms. "Mama's here," she murmured as she pulled the infant to her chest.

He instantly quieted, snuggling closer to her as she began to hum softly and gently rock him from side to side as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. Within moments, he had fallen back to sleep.

"That's not fair," Jack whispered in her ear as she began to take him back to the bassinette.

Sam chuckled softly to herself as she looked back at her husband. "Just a mother's touch, I suppose," she grinned.

"Well, maybe there's something your maternal instinct can explain to me," he said as she put the baby back into the bassinette so that he could sleep.

"Yes?" She asked, turning back to him.

"We're going to DC for the weekend. Why on Earth do we need all this stuff?" He asked, his arms outstretched so that she could see the panoramic view of the mess she'd left around him.

"Jack, we're going to need clothes, and Grace is going to need something to do, and Jacob needs his diaper bag," she began.

He held up a hand. "I know, I know, I know…"

"What's the problem then?"

"I don't want to have to schlepp it around an airport," the retired general admitted. "I've done far too many years of carrying my supplies on my back like a pack mule. I wish we had someone else to help us with that."

Sam tried to school a smile from her lips as she returned to her task of putting the cosmetics in the cosmetic bag. "Charlie went up a few days early to spend time with Cassandra," she said, matter-of-factly. "So, unless we want to pack everything in the car, and lock the kids up in that tight space for three days, we're stuck."

"We did it before," Jack pouted.

"Yes, but the baby that will cry in the backseat," she said, referencing the infant she'd just put down. "Was still inside me then. And Charlie was around to help keep Grace entertained or you awake if I fell asleep."

"So, why'd he leave early again?"

Sam shook her head. "I'm not doing this with you again," she laughed, softly. "We have a non-stop flight from Denver, Colorado to Baltimore, MD tomorrow at 2 pm. Then, on Saturday, we're going to be there for Cassandra's graduation from medical school, and Sunday, we're coming home. A month or two later, when Grace is out of school and before Cassandra starts her residency, we're going to the cabin for some much needed vacation time."

"You're loving this," Jack said with a small smile.

"Loving what?" She asked, taken by surprise with his statement.

"The fact that Cassandra got the Academy hospital residency that she wanted, and all your little chicks are going to be in the same city as you again."

She tried to keep a smile from growing on her lips. "I'm happy for Cassandra because this is her dream. The fact that she'll be geographically closer to us is just icing on the cake."

"Uh huh," he teased.

She shook her head, good-naturedly, before throwing a small bundle of baby clothes at him. "Now, help me finish packing so we can actually get some sleep tonight.

* * *

"Grace, honey," Sam said with her hands on the small baby carrier that she wore on her shoulders as she turned back to her daughter who was lagging behind in the crowded Denver airport. "We need to hurry up if we're going to make it to the airplane on time."

"I know," she sighed. "But my legs are tired. We've been walking so much…"

"Come here," Jack said, scooping the little girl up into his arms. In an instant, she was up on his shoulders with a relieved smile on her face.

"Ready everybody?" Sam asked with a tender smile from where she stood with baby Jacob's cheek resting on her chest as he slept.

"Yep." Grace and Jack announced in unison.

"Let's go," Sam said as Jack caught up to her, reaching for her hand as they walked down the long corridors of the airport to their designated gate. She turned an affectionate smile to her husband who returned it instantly.

"Is Cassie going to meet us at the airport?" Grace asked from atop her father's shoulders.

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said with a grin.

"And Charlie too, I'll bet," Sam said with a smile of her own.

"Good."

"You miss them?" Sam asked, looking up at her daughter.

"Yeah," she admitted. "A little."

"So do I," Sam said, sincerely.

"Me too." Jack added.

Grace fell silent, and Sam looked up at her, concerned for a moment, before she returned her attention to the gate signs lining the corridor. "Well, I think we're almost there."

"And then, we get to sit and wait. My favorite."

Sam turned to her husband with a small chuckle. "Well, you'll probably be happy to know that we won't be waiting as long as we probably should be. We'll be getting there just in time for our flight."

"Yes!" He said, pulling his fist toward himself in a motion of victory.

She giggled softly, though her lighthearted laughter was a cover for the deep thoughts in her mind as she looked at her husband. She loved the man walking beside her with every fiber of her being. And every moment standing beside him made that love grow stronger and more deeply rooted in her heart.

Suddenly, a dollar bill was waved in her face, and she turned a questioning glance to her husband.

"Dollar for your thoughts?" He asked, keeping his face schooled into a deadpan expression.

"Inflation?" She asked with amusement.

"Yep." He grinned.

"I love you, Jack," she said, softly. "And it's a privilege to be your wife."

"That's what they all say," he winked.

She giggled softly to herself.

"Hey, Sam?"

She turned to him again. "Yes?"

"Backatcha."

* * *

"Hi, there," Cassandra grinned as the family appeared on the other side of the gate in Baltimore.

Grace was wide-eyed. "That was so cool!"

Sam turned to her daughter in surprise.

"I've never been on an airplane before," she said, sheepishly.

"Never?" Sam asked, surprised that she hadn't known this.

Grace shook her head. "We always take car trips."

"We must have taken you on an airplane sometime…" Jack said, skeptically.

"When we moved, we drove in the car. When we went to the cabin, we drove in the car. When we went to find Cassandra with Charlie, we drove in the car," Grace said, shaking her head.

"Come on, Dad," Charlie said with a half-smile. "You always said when I was growing up that you spent enough of your life in airplanes just with work, and so we would drive everywhere. The cabin, Grandma and Grandpa's house…we never flew."

"The train. We took the train once."

"Yeah. When we went to Chicago." Charlie laughed. "To see the Children's Museum and the Chicago Cubs while Mom was at Aunt Kara's house."

"Yes…" Jack said, nodding. "I seem to remember going to the John Hancock Observatory."

"And Legoland." Charlie grinned.

"And the Navy Pier." Jack said, nodding as he remembered the trip.

"I want to go!" Grace announced.

"Me too," Cassandra teased, wrapping her arms around Charlie's as she looked into his eyes with a small smile.

Sam turned a knowing look to her husband as she tried to school the smile from her lips.

"Ahem," Jack coughed, breaking the lovers' trance. "We need to get our rental, and then we need to check in."

"Right." Charlie said, pulling away from Cassandra and looking at his father. "Do you have anything in baggage claim?"

Sam nodded.

"All right. Dad, you and I will head down to the baggage claim to get the bags. Cassandra, you'll take Sam, Jacob, and Grace to the rental counter."

She nodded.

"I want to go with you," Grace said, looking at her older brother.

Charlie turned his attention to his father, who, in turn, looked at his wife. "If she stays close to you both, I don't see how she couldn't," she said, shrugging.

"Yes!" Grace cried, pulling her fist downward in a symbol of her victory.

"Where do you want to meet?"

"At your place. Dad, Grace and I will bring the luggage in your car, and you three can take the rental."

"We need the carseat," Sam interrupted. "That was one of the things you'll find at the baggage claim."

"Okay…" Charlie said with a small sigh.

"We could take Jake too," Jack said, looking at his wife.

She swallowed as she looked down at the sleeping infant in her arms.

"Why don't I meet you in the rental parking lot?" Charlie asked, looking at Cassandra.

"Perfect." She said, nodding.

"Did you get a chance to eat on the plane?" Charlie asked, turning to his family.

Jack shook his head, and Charlie turned to his younger sister. "Hungry?"

She nodded, vigorously.

"I think we should get some dinner before we take them to the hotel," he said, turning to Cassandra.

She nodded. "I agree."

"Got something special in mind?" Jack asked, turning to his son with an eyebrow raised.

Charlie and Cassandra both blushed as they looked at one another for a moment before Charlie shook his head. "Just…happy to have you guys here in DC."

"Uh huh," Sam teased as she raised Cassandra's left hand which now toted a sparkling diamond ring.

"Surprise," the young woman murmured with a nervous smile.

"And you didn't think we'd want to know about this?" Jack asked, looking at his son.

"Uh, well, I wanted to make sure that…"

"We are the closest thing to family she has, after all," Jack continued.

Sam watched her husband with an amused smile trying to break onto her lips.

"I thought it might be weird…" Charlie finally managed. "Going to my own dad for permission to marry a woman who doesn't even live with his family…."

Jack shared a discreet look with his wife before he turned back to his son. "Yes…"

Sam broke into a grin, unable to contain her excitement any longer as she hugged Cassandra tightly. "Congratulations."

Charlie turned an almost weary eye to his father who also grinned, and pulled the younger man into an embrace. "A little quick, don't you think?" He asked as he finally released Charlie.

"Anything's quick compared to you two," Cassandra teased, amiably.

Sam laughed, softly, as she turned back to her husband with an interested eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, well, most couples don't serve in the same chain of command for ten years," Jack said, wryly.

Sam smiled softly before she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "And most couples aren't separated by several galaxies for a year of their engagement."

"Yeah, don't do that," Jack said, turning to the other couple.

"Come on," Cassandra chuckled. "Let's grab your luggage and your rental car and go finish this conversation over dinner."

"Sounds like an excellent idea," Sam laughed.

Charlie leaned over and kissed Cassandra's cheek. "We'll meet you in the parking lot by the rental cars."

"We'll be watching," she said, affectionately.

Jack just shook his head. "It's enough to make you want to throw up, doesn't it?"

Sam elbowed her husband gently with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm just sayin'," Jack said, shrugging.

"Just because we don't hold our affection inside until we're about ready to explode," Cassandra teased. "You two were practically electric there for a few years. And then, you moved to Vegas."

Sam blushed, lightly.

Jack coughed. "Yeah…so, maybe you two love birds should go one direction, and we boring married folk will go another."

Cassandra chuckled. "No, we're fine. Like I said, we'll meet in the parking lot."

Sam laughed as she turned to kiss her husband, gently. "See you in the parking lot."

"Can't wait," he grinned.

She chuckled as she turned back to Cassandra. "Come on, Cass," she said with a smile. "Let's go get us a rental."


	72. Graduation

"So," Jack said to his oldest son as the waiter left the table with their orders. "You managed to distract the graduate during finals, huh?"

"No more than necessary," Cassandra chuckled as she looked over at Charlie. "Without him, I think I might have gotten a little too stressed out, and not gotten the grades I'd hoped for."

"Distraction is highly underrated," Sam said with an appreciative smile. "I never would have made it through my doctoral thesis if I hadn't had friends who threw a half a dozen parties each while I was writing it."

Jack raised an eyebrow as he heard his wife's words. "Is this the woman who kept assuring me that her scientific experiments were "fun" to her?"

Sam shared a pointed look with her husband, though it was clear that she was amused. "Is this the man who is surprised by his son's ability to do the very thing that he's been doing for me over the last twenty years?"

Cassandra chuckled.

"All I did was load the dishwasher and keep the takeout coming," Charlie said, shrugging.

"That was all I needed," Cassandra said, affectionately.

"It's those small and simple things that keep us endeared to these women," Jack said with a chuckle as he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"And don't forget the diamonds," Cassandra piped up with a teasing smile.

Sam grinned as Jack pulled a face.

"I don't care about the ring," Grace said, entering the conversation on a whim.

"There's my girl," Jack grinned, wrapping an arm around the young girl beside him.

"I already know I'm going to get diamonds," she said, confidently.

Jack turned a questioning eye to his daughter. "Oh?"

"Yeah, you're going to get them for me when I graduate from college. Like you did for Cassie."

"What?" Cassandra asked, surprised.

Sam and Jack both managed nervous smiles. "Uh…congratulations?" Sam managed as Jack put the small velvet box on the table.

Cassandra's eyes widened as she reached for the box and opened it to find a pair of diamond studs and a gold necklace with a simple diamond pendant. "They're beautiful!" She said, looking at the couple.

"We know you've sacrificed a lot to get where you are today," Sam said, softly. "And we just wanted to remind you that just as coal goes through a lot to become a diamond, your sacrifices will help your future become something even brighter than you could see before."

"Though that's kind of hard to imagine," Jack said with a paternal smile.

Cassandra felt her eyes moisten with tears. "Thank you."

"We just wanted you to know how proud we are of you," Sam said with a tender smile. "And to remind you how proud your mom would be of you."

Cassandra stood up, and walked over to Sam, wrapping her arms around her neck and hugging her tightly. "Thank you, Sam."

"You're welcome," she said, hugging the young woman tightly.

"Daniel wanted to make sure you knew he had a present for you, but since he's stuck in Colorado with Vala and the baby and you're going to be there soon, he wants to give it to you himself."

Cassandra chuckled. "You didn't have to get me anything. It was enough to have you all as my surrogate family."

"Well," Grace said, sagely. "Graduating from medical school isn't exactly a walk in the park."

"No," Cassandra said, shaking her head with the same solemnity as the young girl though her parents tried to stifle their smiles. "It's not."

"That's why I don't want to be a doctor when I grow up." Grace said, matter-of-factly.

"Oh?" Cassandra asked, somewhat surprised. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

The seven-year-old paused for a moment, her eyebrows knitted together thoughtfully. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "I could do a lot of things."

"Yes," Sam said, nodding. "You could. You're very talented."

"I like animals." Grace said, thoughtfully.

"So, you want to be a veterinarian?" Cassandra asked, curiously.

She shook her head. "Nope. I wouldn't want to see the animals who were hurt."

"That's a good reason not to be a veterinarian," Jack said, nodding.

"I could be a writer. My teacher says I'm very good at writing."

"I've heard that," Jack said, affirmatively. "And good writers do a lot of reading."

"Which wouldn't be very hard for you," Sam said in agreement.

"And you did write that story for your mom," Cassandra said, reminding the little girl.

"What story?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Yeah, what story?" Jack asked, reiterating the question.

"Grace wrote a story while she was in Cheyenne Mountain, waiting for Sam and Jacob to get well." Cassandra said, almost surprised that she had to explain. She turned to the little girl. "Didn't you show it to your mom and dad?"

"Oops…" Grace said, sheepishly. "I forgot."

"She did a really great job on it," Charlie affirmed, proudly.

"Well, then," Sam said, lifting a whimpering Jacob out of his carseat. "I guess we'll have to read it when we get home."

"Yep." Jack said, nodding as the waiter brought their meals out to them.

"Do you guys know where you want to get married yet?" Grace asked slurping a Chinese noodle through her lips as she looked up at the couple.

"Actually," Cassandra said, looking at Charlie somewhat nervously. "We did have an idea…"

"Where?" Sam asked, looking up from the now-content infant in her arms.

"The cabin." Charlie said, looking over at his dad. "Neither of us are particularly religious, so a church wedding doesn't make sense. And given my "resurrection" and the fact that Cassandra only really have you guys and the rest of the team as family, we don't think it would be a big wedding."

"Just close friends and family," Cassandra affirmed. "Like your wedding."

"Are you sure you don't want anything fancier?" Sam asked, looking over at Cassandra almost worriedly.

"Some of my best memories are at the cabin," Cassandra said, shaking her head. "And I think it would be fitting to start this new chapter of my life in a place that is firmly rooted in both of our pasts."

"Well, that does make a lot of the arrangements much easier," Sam admitted. "We don't have to book a location for the wedding, and probably not a reception hall if we're just holding the wedding at the cabin like we did. We'd still need a caterer if we could find one that would come all the way out there, and, of course, you'd need a dress. Flowers would be a must, and…"

"When do you want to get married?" Jack asked, interrupting his wife's train of thought.

Cassandra grimaced. "After I start my residency, I won't get any time off. Not for a while, anyway."

"So?" Sam prodded, confused.

"We'd like to get married before I start the program. In the next month or two while I make the transition to Colorado Springs."

Sam's eyes widened. "You want to move across the country and get married all at the same time?"

"It wouldn't be that big of a deal," Cassandra said, shaking her head. "We'd move into Charlie's house. It's only a few minutes away from the Academy, so it's ideally located from that perspective. We'd move a few things from my apartment here, and sell the rest. I've already had some offers on some of it."

"I guess you have everything well planned," Sam said after a moment of consideration. "And, to be honest, Jack and I did put together our wedding in a week, so I guess it can be done."

"Double check with your mom to see what weekend would work best for her and Tim," Jack said, turning to his son.

"We will." Charlie said, honestly.

"I guess we'll get to do that wedding dress shopping after all," Cassandra said with a twinkle in her eye as she turned to Sam.

Sam laughed softly. "Yes, I suppose we will."

* * *

_The next morning:_

"Grace! Grace, you need to wake up!" Sam called, nudging her daughter somewhat insistently. "Don't you want to see Cassandra's graduation?"

The seven-year-old groaned, looking much like her sixty-year-old father as she attempted to bury her face under her pillow. "I don't wanna get up."

Sam shook her head affectionately as she turned to her husband. "She gets more like you every day."

"Why, thank you, m'lady," he bowed, graciously, before he whipped his daughter's pillow out of her hands. "Up and at 'em, sunshine."

"Fine," she sighed. "I'm up, I'm up."

"Good choice," Jack said with a grin as he and Sam made the bed that their daughter had just vacated.

"Your clothes are on the chair. Get dressed, and we'll get breakfast on the way out to the car. We want to get there in time to get a good seat, don't we?"

She nodded, somewhat reluctantly, as she pulled her outfit off of the chair and dragged it behind her into the bathroom.

"She will never be mistaken for a morning person," Jack said, dead-pan.

Sam tried to hide a small giggle as she finished dressing the baby.

"Now, I know why the O'Keefes had such a hard time getting to mass on time," he said, shaking his head. "They had twelve children!"

Sam shook her head. "I don't know how anyone could do it," she said, in awe.

"Fortunately, we'll never have to find out," her husband smiled before kissed her forehead. "I'm too old for the ones we have."

"Never too old," she said, affectionately. "A little…slow, maybe. But never too old."

"Keep saying that when we're mistaken for this kid's grandparents at the elementary school events," Jack laughed. "And high school…whoo-ey! We'll REALLY be old then!"

Baby Jacob giggled as Sam picked him up and faced him toward his father. "Come on, bubby," she cooed. "Tell your dad he isn't too old."

The baby grinned as Jack took the infant from her. As if on cue, he curled up in the crook of his father's neck, contentedly.

"That's right, little guy," Jack said with a tender smile. "You and me…we'll be the ones in the La-Z-Boy, taking a nap together."

Sam put a hand on her son's back before raising up to kiss her husband. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you too, Sam."

* * *

"Are you ready?" Sam whispered to her husband. "She's coming up soon."

"I've got it, I've got it," he insisted as he raised the digital camera into position.

"Cassandra Fraiser, M.D."

The applause swelled for a moment as Jack captured her walk across the outdoor stage on camera. With a wide smile, she accepted her diploma, and turned face the audience.

Sam could feel tears moisten her eyes and she had a feeling that Janet was watching from wherever she was. _This is thanks to you, Janet,_ she thought inwardly for a moment. _She always wanted to be like you, and now, she'll be helping people just like you did._

Sam's heart swelled with the memory of her best friend. _I wish you could see what she's become, Janet. I know you'd be so proud of her. Just like Jack and I are._

Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "I know you're probably wishing that Janet could see this, and how great a mother Janet was for Cassandra." He whispered into her ear. "But I have a feeling that Janet would just turn back to you and say that she's here because you sacrificed your job so that you could stay with her during that accident."

"That time in Nevada helped me a lot more than it helped her," Sam said with teary eyes as she looked at her husband. "After all," she whispered. "It gave me you."

He kissed her lips, tenderly. "Next time it's going to be Grace…graduating from high school."

She nodded, getting emotional.

"And after that, it'll be her graduation from college."

Sam nodded again as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"And then, Jacob will graduate from high school."

The thought that the sleeping infant in her arms would be an adult before she could even bat an eye was the final straw for her, and she turned and buried her face in her husband's chest as she tried to compose herself.

"No matter what happens between now and then," her husband assured, gently. "I'll be here, and I will love you more every day that I wake up beside you. I can promise that."

"How did I get so lucky to find you?" Sam whispered, softly.

"How did I ever manage to convince you to be my wife?" He returned, gently, as he wiped the tears from her face. "I love you, Samantha Carter."

"Happy graduation, Jack," she said, softly.

"Happy graduation," he returned with a smile as they turned back to face the rest of the ceremony.


End file.
